The octagon matchmakers have announced the return of their heavyweight champion, Randy "The Natural" Couture (15-8-0) who will take on the hard-hitting Brazilian Gabriel "Napao" Gonzaga (7-1-0) for the heavyweight belt on August 25 at UFC 74: Respect.

Gonzaga shocked the world in April by knocking out Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic (22-4-2) in London. Speculation was rampant that “Cro Cop” would knock out Gonzaga and move on to become the next UFC heavyweight champion. Gonzaga, however, had other plans.

Using masterful strategy, Gonzaga continually circled away from Filopovic’s dangerous left-leg high kick. When the time was right, he took the Croatian super-striker to the mat and, taking advantage of the UFC rules, fired relentless elbows into the face of his opponent. Cro Cop would comment afterwards that these strikes left him unable to see clearly.

Back on his feet after a referee re-start, Cro Cop looked to unload his trademark kick, but Gonzaga had more surprises in store and beat him to the punch, or rather, the kick. Swinging his foot skywards, Gonzaga dealt his opponent a crushing blow to the temple and Filopovic collapsed in a heap, falling badly over his own leg and dislocating his foot in the process.

After the fight, Gonzaga spoke about his newly-earned title shot. “I’m going to do everything I can to get ready,” he said. “I’ll do my best to do the same thing I just did again”.

Couture congratulated Gonzaga on the win. “I picked you to win,” he said “I look forward to facing you very soon.”

On August 25, “The Natural” will make his long-awaited return to face “Napao”. Also on the card, former middleweight champion Georges "Rush" St Pierre (13-2-0) will take on wrestling phenomenon Josh Koscheck (9-1-0).

Source: sports.bodogbeat.com