Rothwell Agrees to Fight Velasquez
Ben
Rothwell has verbally agreed to meet Cain
Velasquez in a heavyweight bout at UFC
104 on Oct. 24 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, according
to sources with knowledge of the negotiations.
It is not yet known whether Velasquez has accepted the fight.
If signed, Rothwell will replace Shane Carwin, who was moved to a heavyweight title bout against Brock Lesnar at UFC 106 on Nov. 21 in Las Vegas.
Rothwell was scheduled to face Chase Gormley on Oct. 24 in a bout first made by Affliction Entertainment for its cancelled Aug. 1 event.
An IFL standout, Rothwell has won 16 out of 18 bouts since 2004, including victories over Roy Nelson, Ricco Rodriguez and Krzysztof Soszynski. The Wisconsin native submitted Chris Guillen with elbows in the first round at Adrenaline MMA 2 last December.
Velasquez, a two-time All-American wrestler for Arizona State, is undefeated in the Octagon. He earned a unanimous decision over Cheick Kongo at UFC 99 on June 13 in Cologne, Germany -- the first time the 27-year-old had been taken the distance. The American Kickboxing Academy student also owns wins from strikes against Denis Stojnic and Jake O’Brien.
Greg Savage contributed to this report.
It is not yet known whether Velasquez has accepted the fight.
If signed, Rothwell will replace Shane Carwin, who was moved to a heavyweight title bout against Brock Lesnar at UFC 106 on Nov. 21 in Las Vegas.
Rothwell was scheduled to face Chase Gormley on Oct. 24 in a bout first made by Affliction Entertainment for its cancelled Aug. 1 event.
An IFL standout, Rothwell has won 16 out of 18 bouts since 2004, including victories over Roy Nelson, Ricco Rodriguez and Krzysztof Soszynski. The Wisconsin native submitted Chris Guillen with elbows in the first round at Adrenaline MMA 2 last December.
Velasquez, a two-time All-American wrestler for Arizona State, is undefeated in the Octagon. He earned a unanimous decision over Cheick Kongo at UFC 99 on June 13 in Cologne, Germany -- the first time the 27-year-old had been taken the distance. The American Kickboxing Academy student also owns wins from strikes against Denis Stojnic and Jake O’Brien.
Greg Savage contributed to this report.
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