Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is assembling a heavyweight showdown between longtime veterans Alexander Gustafsson and Ben Rothwell, a titanic tilt on tap for the UFC “Fight Night” event on May 21 in a city and venue to be determined.
That’s according to a report from Frontkick Online.
Gustafsson, 35, jumped to heavyweight after losing consecutive bouts against Jon Jones and Anthony Smith. Unfortunately for the 18-7 “Mauler,” the savvy submission skills of Fabricio Werdum proved too much for the towering Swede, who succumbed to a first-round armbar back in summer 2020.
The 40 year-old Rothwell (39-14) is also looking to rebound from a first-round defeat after getting pounded into the “L” column by Marcos Rogerio de Lima at UFC Vegas 42 last November. The hot-and-cold “Big” Ben managed to blast his way into the Top 5 just a few years back, but has since dropped five of his last eight.
Also competing at the UFC “Fight Night” event on May 21 are featherweight rivals Felipe Colares and Chase Hooper. While no main event has been assigned just yet, you can expect more fight card announcements to start trickling in over the next couple of weeks.