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.
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