Newsday first reported the bout. UFC 249 takes place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., on April 18 and is headlined by a lightweight championship bout between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson.
Villante hasn’t fought at heavyweight since his Strikeforce debut on Feb. 12, 2011, when he lost to Chad Griggs via first-round technical knockout. The 34-year-old New Yorker was also a heavyweight and light heavyweight champion in Ring of Combat earlier in his career. Villante is coming off a first-round TKO loss to Michal Oleksiejczuk at UFC Fight Night 145 in February 2019.
Rothwell, meanwhile, ended a three-bout skid with a foul-marred second-round TKO of Stefan Struve at UFC on ESPN 7 on Dec. 7. Rothwell’s Octagon tenure dates back to 2009 and includes wins over the likes of Alistair Overeem, Josh Barnett, Matt Mitrione and Brandon Vera.