The rapidly-expanding UFC 136 card has received a second title fight, as UFC Featherweight Champion José “Scarface” Aldo will defend his belt against Kenny “KenFlo” Florian on the October 8th card in Houston, Texas. The promotion officially announced the championship matchup today.

Aldo, the former WEC Featherweight Champion, made the first defence of his new UFC title at UFC 129 in April, where he earned a largely one-sided Unanimous Decision over Mark “The Machine” Hominick. Florian, a two-time lightweight title challenger, won his featherweight debut last month.

Aldo (19-1-0) has won 12 straight fights since his lone loss in late 2005. All but one of his eight WEC fights ended in knockout victories for the Brazilian, as only former champion Urijah Faber was able to survive to a lopsided Unanimous Decision loss after Aldo picked him apart with leg kicks. Despite a shaky final round against Hominick, Aldo displayed excellent striking throughout the fight and solidified his spot as the number one featherweight in the sport.

Florian (14-5-0) dropped down to his fourth weight class at UFC 131 and defeated Diego “The Gun” Nunes in his first foray at 145 pounds. The victory was a credible one over a top contender, but it was uncertain at the time whether Florian would be next in line for Aldo’s title. Speculation ended today, however, as the Massachusetts native will face one of his toughest tests to date as he looks to finally capture UFC title gold on his third attempt.

While competent on the ground, Aldo’s strengths in all of his recent bouts have lied in his striking; both in technique and power. He will hold a decided advantage over Florian on the feet, but Florian’s ground game remains his strongpoint and he has submitted nine opponents to date. Only two of Florian’s wins have gone the distance, while Aldo has finished 14 career opponents.

UFC 136 is targeted for October 8th at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. The event is expected to be headlined by a UFC Lightweight Championship trilogy bout between Frankie “The Answer” Edgar and Gray “The Bully” Maynard.

UFC 136 Fight Card (to date; subject to change):

– Frankie “The Answer” Edgar vs Gray “The Bully” Maynard [UFC Lightweight Championship]
– José “Scarface” Aldo vs Kenny “KenFlo” Florian [UFC Featherweight Championship]
– Chael Sonnen vs “All American” Brian Stann
– Demian Maia vs Jorge “The Sandman” Santiago
– Joe “J-Lau” Lauzon vs Melvin “The Young Assassin” Guillard
– Dave “Pee-Wee” Herman vs Mike Russow
– Josh “The Fluke” Grispi vs Matt “The Real One” Grice

(Photo Credit: Sherdog.com)