Almeida-Brown Official for UFC 111

Ricardo Almeida and Matt Brown will meet in a welterweight contest at UFC 111 on March 27 at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., the promotion announced this week.

Almeida, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under Renzo Gracie and New Jersey resident, has gotten unanimous decision nods in his last two outings against Matt Horwich and Kendall Grove, who he met at UFC 101 last August in Philadelphia. The 33-year-old former Pancrase star returned to the UFC in 2008 following a four-year retirement. UFC 111 will mark Almeida’s debut at welterweight.

The resilient 29-year-old Brown has quietly worked his way up the 170-pound ranks, winning four of his five bouts in the Octagon. Brown, a product of Jorge Gurgel’s Ohio academy, earned a third-round TKO against “The Ultimate Fighter 9” veteran James Wilks at UFC 105 last November in Manchester, England.

Also on the card, Georges St. Pierre will defend his welterweight crown against Brit Dan Hardy, while Frank Mir and Shane Carwin will vie for the interim heavyweight title.