Shane del Rosario
With all of the changes to the upcoming UFC 146 card over the past few days, main card fighter and UFC newcomer Shane del Rosario (11-0) was the odd man out after his former opponent, Gabriel Gonzaga, was bumped up to face Roy ‘Big Country’ Nelson at the Nevada event.
On Tuesday, UFC president Dana White announced via Twitter (@danawhite) a new opponent for Del Rosario in Ohio based Stipe Miocic (8-0).
– 8-0 Stipe Miocic vs 11-0 Shane Del Rosario is on!!!!
The two undefeated heavyweights will open the pay-per-view card for UFC 146 which is expected to take place on May 26, 2012 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The entire main card features five heavyweight bouts including a title bout between champion Junior dos Santos and challenger Frank Mir.
Del Rosario moves to the UFC after three straight matches under the Strikeforce banner. His last fight took place in February 2011 at the Fedor vs. Silva event, with Del Rosario earning a first round submission win over Lavar Johnson. Del Rosario had been scheduled to face Daniel Cormier last Summer in a reserve bout of the Strikeforce Heavyweight World Grand Prix, but was instead sidelined after a drunk driver hit his car from behind.
Miocic has already appeared twice in the Octagon, earning a “Knockout of the Night” bonus in his last fight after defeating Phil De Fries at UFC on FUEL TV 1 last February. Miocic debuted in October, winning a unanimous decision over Joey Beltran at UFC 136. Before joining the UFC, Miocic won the NAAFS heavyweight title at a NAAFS event in June of last year.