Roy Nelson vs. Gabriel Gonzaga Announced for UFC 146

The heavyweight shuffle continues.
Announced Monday, Gabriel Gonzaga has been removed from his UFC 146 match-up against Shane del Rosario, and is now slated to face TUF 10 winner Roy Nelson at the May 26 event. UFC President Da…

Esther Lin, MMA Fighting

The heavyweight shuffle continues.

Announced Monday, Gabriel Gonzaga has been removed from his UFC 146 match-up against Shane del Rosario, and is now slated to face TUF 10 winner Roy Nelson at the May 26 event. UFC President Dana White confirmed the switch via Twitter.

As of this writing, it’s unknown if del Rosario will remain on the card.

Nelson (16-7) was originally booked to fight Strikeforce veteran Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva, however that match-up fell apart after Silva was tapped as Frank Mir’s replacement opposite Cain Velasquez. Mir, of course, replaced Alistair Overeem in UFC 146’s main event after Overeem failed a random drug test earlier this month.

“Big Country” now hopes to rebound after dropping three of his past four fights, including a bloody decision loss to Fabricio Werdum at UFC 143.

Gonzaga (13-6), meanwhile, looks to continue his recent career resurgence since returning from retirement and choking out Ednaldo Oliveira in the first round at UFC 142.