Another piece of the puzzle has fallen into place for the heavyweight shuffle at UFC 146.
UFC President Dana White has tweeted that Gabriel Gonzaga, who was originally scheduled to fight Shane del Rosario at UFC 146, will now be fighting Roy Nelson on May 26 at the MGM in Las Vegas.
This is the third change the UFC brass has been forced to make to the all-heavyweight card in a short period of time, with the changes set into motion by a failed drug test from Alistair Overeem, the man who was originally supposed to fight for the UFC Heavyweight Championship in the main event.
Although Overeem has not been officially suspended by the Nevada State Athletic Commission, White decided to pull Overeem from the fight. When asked why he pulled Alistair before the Dutch kickboxing specialist’s hearing, White cited that he had deadlines to make in order to promote the pay-per-view and he didn’t like Overeem’s chances of getting licensed.
With Overeem out, White was forced to move Frank Mir from the co-main event to the main event, where he will meet UFC heavyweight champ Junior dos Santos.
Of course, this left Mir’s original opponent, Cain Velasquez, without anyone to fight.
Enter Antonio Silva.
Silva was originally scheduled to meet Roy Nelson, but moved up the card and will now fight Velasquez.
It’s been quite a debacle getting this card sorted out, but the UFC is almost there. With Gonzaga fighting Nelson, the only problem left to solve is, “Who will fight Shane del Rosario?”
Stay tuned to Bleacher Report for more news as this story develops.
Andrew Barr is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and stand-up comedian. Check him out on Twitter @AndrewBarr8.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com