A middleweight bout between former Strikeforce middleweight champion Luke Rockhold and ultra-durable Tim Boetsch has been added to UFC 172 in Baltimore.
The news was first announced by the UFC on their official website.
The event takes place on April 26 at the Baltimore Arena. A light heavyweight fight between reigning champion Jon Jones and Glover Teixeira headlines the card.
Other fights include recent UFC returnee Anthony Johnson vs. Phil Davis, Joseph Benavidez vs. Tim Elliott and Jake Ellenberger vs. Tarec Saffiedine. Max Holloway will also face Andre Fili, and The Ultimate Fighter alum Jessamyn Duke will face Bethe Correia.
UFC 172 marks the second time Rockhold and Boetsch have been scheduled to face each other. The first was at UFC 166 in October of 2013, but a slight knee injury suffered by Rockhold in training forced him to withdraw from the fight. Boetsch instead faced CB Dollaway and earned a tough split-decision win. Rockhold took a few months off and then stepped in the cage for a bout with Costas Philippou.
Rockhold (11-2, No. 6) now steps back into training camp almost immediately after defeating Philippou on January 15. It was Rockhold‘s first UFC win after Vitor Belfort spoiled the former Strikeforce middleweight champion’s debut earlier last year.
Boetsch (17-6, No. 11) got back on the winning track with his win over Dollaway. Prior to that win at UFC 166, Boetsch had defeated Hector Lombard to put himself near title contention. Boetsch then lost consecutive fights to Mark Munoz and Philippou to drop out of contention, but a win over Rockhold would likely put him right back in the mix of top UFC middleweights.
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