Following a bad stint at 205 pounds, Brandon Vera is returning to the Octagon at UFC 164 for a heavyweight division battle with Ben Rothwell.
MMA Junkie initially reported on Tuesday that the rumored bout was targeted for the upcoming August 31 card at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but it wasn’t yet known if the match would be made official by UFC brass.
But now, Vera vs. Rothwell is a done deal.
Both fighters have seen some setbacks in their respective MMA careers, but Vera carries the heavy distinction of notching only one win in five fights since November 2009.
Most recently, Vera lost an action-packed brawl against former light heavyweight champion Shogun Rua at UFC on Fox 4, succumbing to punches in the fourth round of their main-event bout.
That sealed a lackluster 1-3-0-1 stretch for Vera, including a single win over retired The Ultimate Fighter alumnus Eliot Marshall, losses to Jon Jones and Randy Couture and another defeat to Thiago Silva—which was later overturned to a “no contest” after Silva failed his urine sample test.
Rothwell‘s record has looked much better by comparison, but he’s also had his fair share of losses.
Despite entering the UFC on a 13-fight winning streak, Rothwell hasn’t put together back-to-back wins since July 2008, with his UFC record standing at 2-3 going into this next match.
It’s also possible that the loser of this bout could be on the cut list, if the UFC’s recent roster trimmings are any indication.
According to Bloody Elbow, Vera made a disclosed $70,000 for his loss to Rua, befitting of a seven-year UFC veteran and former headliner.
Rothwell‘s last reported salary came from UFC 145 (via MMA Fighting), where he made $104,000 in his victory over Brendan Schaub—$52,000 for his base pay and an extra $52,000 for his win bonus, not including an extra $65,000 for his “Knockout of the Night” award.
McKinley Noble is an MMA conspiracy theorist. His work has appeared in NVision, PC World, Macworld, GamePro, 1UP, MMA Mania and The L.A. Times.
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