Ben Rothwell
A pair of heavyweights appears to be on tap for this January’s upcoming Brazil event, pitting ‘Big’ Ben Rothwell (32-8) and Gabriel ‘Napão’ Gonzaga (13-6) against one another.
News of the matchup was first announced by Tatame earlier today and later confirmed by MMAWeekly.com.
The yet-to-be named Brazilian event is expected to take place on January 19, 2013 and is expected to be a FUEL TV or FX event.
Rothwell had been scheduled to face Travis Browne earlier this summer at UFC on FOX 4 but was forced out of the match with an injury. ‘Big Ben’ was last in action at UFC 145 in April, where he won a “Knockout of the Night” finish against Brendan Schaub at the Atlanta, Georgia event. Before that match, Rothwell lost a decision to Mark Hunt at UFC 135 in September 2011.
Gonzaga had been set to face Geronimo dos Santos last month at UFC 153 but Dos Santos was forced to withdraw and Gonzaga was eventually pulled from the card. The Brazilian was also linked to a fight with Shane del Rosario and then Roy ‘Big Country’ Nelson due to injuries on the card. Gonzaga was eventually forced out with an injury. ‘Napão’ made a successful Octagon return last January at UFC 142, replacing an injured Rob Broughton, and won a unanimous decision against Ednaldo Oliveira.