A heavyweight bout between contenders Stipe Miocic and Ben Rothwell is being looked at for UFC Fight Night 76 in Dublin, Ireland.
Though the bout is not official yet, that the fight is being targeted to take place at the 3Arena (formerly O2 Arena) on Oct. 24, sources told MMA Fighting. Currently Miocic is ranked as the No. 3 heavyweight in the media-driven UFC rankings, while Rothwell sits at No. 6.
After going just 2-3 during a five-fight stretch between 2009-2013 — including a loss to Velasquez at UFC 104 — the 33-year old Rothwell has won three straight fights to come crashing back into contention. All three of his victories were finishes, with his last two — against Alistair Overeem (TKO) and Matt Mitrione (submission, gogoplata) — coming in the first round.
The 32-year old Miocic, meanwhile, has won four of his past five fights, with his only loss coming against Junior dos Santos in December. In his last outing, Miocic was able to outlast Mark Hunt, finishing him memorably via TKO in the fifth round at UFC Fight Night 65 in Adelaide, Australia.
UFC Fight Night 76 will feature a headlining bout between lightweights Dustin Poirier and Irishman Joe Duffy.