FiveOuncesOfPain.com confirmed the news with EliteXC Vice President Jared Shaw on Monday afternoon.

Santana, nicknamed “The Arm Collector” due to his penchant for tapping out his opposition with armbars, improved his MMA record to 11-0 following his submission victory over Matt Lucas at 1:49 of round 1 during April’s ShoXC event.

For Jara, the event will mark his return to ShoXC, thanks in large part to his current three fight win streak outside of the promotion. The 39-year old is 1-1 lifetime in ShoXC having defeated Jeremiah Metcalf in his debut in July of 2007 followed by a defeat against Seth Kleinbeck in August of 2007.

The Sept. 26 event will emanate from the Chumash Casino in Santa Ynez, Calif. and will be headlined by Wilson Reis taking on King of the Cage bantamweight (135 lbs.) champion Abel Cullum for EliteXC’s vacant bantamweight (140 lbs.).

Other scheduled televised bouts include Malaipet vs. David “Tarzan” Douglas, Matt Makowski vs. Erik Apple, and Shane Del Rosario vs. Carl Seumantafa.

(Pictured: Giva Santana)

“Frankie and Chris are great athletes, but even better people,” said Almeida about his new teammates. “They have been able to get very far in MMA already, so I can’t wait to see what will happen when they are able to add solid jiu-jitsu skills to their arsenals. I’m stoked to have them join our team.”

This can only be beneficial to both fighters, especially Edgar. He has been trying to improve his BJJ skills and training with a jiu jitsu player the caliber of Almeida, who has had success in MMA as well, is a great thing for Edgar and his overall game.

Unbeaten UFC newcomer Rob Yundt (7-0) has stepped in on short notice to replace middleweight up and comer Alan Belcher against Ricardo Almeida on Saturday night’s UFC 81 card in Las Vegas. Belcher was forced to withdraw from the bout due to a severe case of bronchitis.

Yundt boasts a 7-0 record coming into the bout against Almeida. No word has been made as to whether the fight will move down to the preliminary card or stay a part of the pay-per-view broadcast. As of right now, UFC’s Event Page has the Yundt/Almeida bout still listed as a part of the televised card.

Check out more UFC 81 content on 5 Oz. of Pain.

Belcher said the following about his opponent:

“He beat Nate Marquardt by submission and Ryo Chonan be decision and his jiu-jitsu is really good, so it is going to be a good fight.”

Personally, I was hoping for a rematch between Belcher and Kalib Starnes from UFC 77 in October. The fight was an exciting slugfest until the referee stopped the fight due to a deep gash over Starnes’ eye. Fighting Almeida in Almeida’s first fight since 2004 will pose a much different challenge than Starnes did. A win over Almeida would show that Belcher is capable of defeating a well-skilled ground fighter whereas the fight with Starnes was mostly fought on the feet.

Check out the full UFC 81 fight card and more on FiveOuncesofPain.com.

According to the report, Almeida has signed a six-fight contract with the UFC and his first fight could be in early-2008:

On first hand for GRACIEMAG.com, Ricardo Almeida revealed that he has just signed a six fights contract with UFC. Cachorrao is considered one of the most talented fighters today. The comeback of Renzo Gracie’s black belt to MMA was scheduled to happen early this month at Cage Fury Fighting Championship, but the event never came through. Therefore, Cachorrao negotiated a deal with Dana White.

Before signing, Almeida looked into five different offers. His first bout should be scheduled for the beginning of 2008. “The final goal of my return was to get to the UFC, so I thought why not go straight there at once,” said Cachorrao to GRACIEMAG.com.

Almeida had been scheduled to make his comeback during last week’s Cage Fury Fighting Championships card in Atlanta City but his return was put on hold after the event was canceled two weeks ago.

Almeida received his black belt in Jiu-Jitsu from Renzo Gracie and was a top MMA fighter before walking away from the sport at the top of his game in 2004. In addition to having competed for the UFC, Almeida has fought for both Pancrase and PRIDE.

He left the sport with an impressive 8-2 record that was built up with notable wins over such fighters as Ikuhisa Minowa, Kazuo Misaki, Nathan Marquardt, and Ryo Chonan.

If the report at GracieMag.com is true then this has to be considered the best piece of news that the UFC has offered fans in recent weeks. Almeida’s comeback is not only an intriguing story but he could be a tremendous asset to the promotion’s middleweight division.