A heavyweight bout between Mark ‘Super Samoan’ Hunt (6-7) and Ben ‘Big Ben’ Rothwell (31-7) is the latest addition to this falls upcoming UFC 135 event in Colorado.
The bout, not yet confirmed by UFC officials, was first reported by MMAWeekly.com who learned of the matchup from sources close to the fight and posted the news late Monday night.
Update: “Verbal agreements are in for a battle between heavyweights as devastating striker Mark ‘The Super Samoan’ Hunt faces the 6’ 4” powerhouse Ben Rothwell on September 24 in Denver, Colorado,” said UFC President Dana White.
UFC 135 is expected to take place on Sept. 24 at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado. Two bouts have already been made official for the card featuring Matt Hughes vs. Diego Sanchez and Norifumi ‘Kid’ Yamamoto vs. Damacio Page.
Hunt, a former K-1 kickboxing champion, is just 1-6 in his last seven bouts. The former PRIDE fighter is 1-1 with the UFC having stopped Chris Tuchscherer last February at UFC 127 in Australia. The KO also earned him his first “Fight Night” bonus with “Knockout of the Night”. The ‘Super Samoan” made his UFC debut last September, losing to Sean McCorkle in the first round by submission. Hunt has fought the likes of Gegard Mousasi, Alistair Overeem, Fedor Emelianenko, Josh Barnett, Mirko ‘Cro Cop’ Filipovic, and Wanderlei Silva in the past.
Rothwell holds the same 1-1 record in the UFC as his opponent, but his recent record is much more positive going 2-2 in his last four, and 15-2 in his last seventeen. The former IFL fighter hasn’t stepped foot into the Octagon in over a year having fought last June at UFC 115 against Gilbert Yvel. ‘Big Ben’ would earn a unanimous decision at the Vancouver event. He debuted in October of 2009 at UFC 104, losing by second round TKO to current heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez.