Report: Almeida, Pyle Agree to Meet at UFC 128

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Ricardo Almeida and Mike Pyle are likely to square off on March 19 as part of the as-yet-unannounced UFC 128, an event likely to take place at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

While the bout has not yet been made official by the promotion, both welterweights have verbally agreed to the matchup, according to a report from MMAWeekly.com.

Almeida comes fresh off a Dec. 11 unanimous decision win over T.J. Grant at UFC 124. The victory got the “Big Dog” back on track after suffering the first submission loss of his career in August, when Matt Hughes choked him unconscious at UFC 117. Prior to that defeat, 34-year-old Brazilian had won three straight in the UFC against Matt Brown, Kendall Grove and Matt Horwich.

Meanwhile, Pyle will look to extend his win streak to three, having decisioned John Hathaway at UFC 120 and put Jesse Lennox to sleep with a triangle choke at UFC 115. A 10-year veteran of the MMA scene, Pyle has gone 3-2 inside the Octagon since joining the UFC in May 2009. The submission specialist known as “Quicksand” also holds notable career victories over Jon Fitch, Dan Hornbuckle and Gustavo Machado.

UFC 128 is expected to be headlined by the long-awaited light heavyweight title bout between champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and former titleholder Rashad Evans. Also rumored for the card is a heavyweight matchup featuring ex-champ Frank Mir and up-and-comer Brendan Schaub, as well as a duel between highly regarded lightweights Gleison Tibau and Kurt Pellegrino.