Reigning Tezos WNO light heavyweight champion Pedro Marinho, will return to the stage to defend his title against WNO veteran Rafael Lovato Jr. in the co-main event of Tezos WNO 20: Night of Champions on Oct. 1 in Houston, TX.

Tickets are on sale now for Tezos WNO 20: Night Of Champions in Houston, TX on Oct. 1

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The Houston native, Marinho, should be eager to defend his title for the second time, this time on home turf. Marinho secured his first title defense earlier this year on Tezos WNO 17, defeating Giancarlo Bodoni via decision. He's 2-1 on Tezos WNO. He earned his first victory in his belt-claiming performance against Craig Jones in March 2022, then took his first defeat in a 30-minute heavyweight bout against Gordon Ryan in July 2022.

Rafael Lovato Jr. is coming into the matchup hot, following a submission of the night win over Elder Cruz at Tezos WNO 18, when he had the home field advantage in Oklahoma City.

Lovato is 1-2 on Tezos WNO, with a narrow decision loss against Gilbert Burns in 2021, and a more one-sided decision loss to Nicholas Meregali in 2022. Lovato earned fourth place at ADCC 2022, retiring from the event on the mat. He comes in with nearly two decades worth of black belt competition experience, and a wrestling game empowered by his undefeated MMA career at Bellator, where he was a champion.

He'll need to rely on that wrestling game if he hopes to defeat Marinho for the strap, as both of Marinho's Tezos WNO title victories have come from his insistence on fighting for and earning top position against his opponents.

In all three of his previous Tezos WNO matches, Pedro Marinho has been deemed the underdog. While the official betting lines have not yet been submitted, Marinho has made it clear that — espeically on home turf — he shouldn't be counted out. 

But Rafael Lovato Jr. is coming in hungry to prove that he deserves the WNO title. Will the belt switch hands on Oct. 1 in Houston? Watch it live on FloGrappling to find out.

About Tezos WNO 20: Night of Champions

Tezos WNO 20: Night of Champions presented by Fat Tire will take place in Houston, TX on Sunday, Oct. 1. Tickets are on sale now to watch it live in person at the Bayou Music Center. This week, FloGrappling will release matchups including title defenses and vacant title brackets.

In total, six belts are on the line, including the heavyweight strap, up for grabs in the main event bout between Gordon Ryan and Patrick Gaudio.

Full Announced Card - 

• Men's Heavyweight Championship - Gordon Ryan (c) vs Patrick Gaudio
• Women's Heavyweight Championship - Rafaela Guedes (c) vs Nathiely de Jesus
• Women's Featherweight Championship - Elisabeth Clay vs. Brianna Ste-Marie
• Men's Welterweight Championship Bracket: PJ Barch, Mica Galvao, Jacob Rodriguez, Andrew Tackett
• Men's Featherweight Championship Bracket: Keith Krikorian, Diogo Reis, Gabriel Sousa, Ash Williams
• Heavyweight Bout -Rafael Lovato, Jr. vs Ricardo Evangelista
• Heavyweight Bout - Steffen Banta vs Thomas Bracher
• Women's Strawweight Bout - Thaynara Victoria vs Tiffany Butler