Tough-as-nails Joey Beltran (12-5, 2-2 UFC) will look to end a two-fight losing streak when he takes on Aaron Rosa (16-3, 0-0 UFC) in Rosa's UFC debut. This UFC 131 heavyweight bout will take place on the Facebook/Youtube portion of the undercard, which begins at approximately 5:45 p.m. ET/2:45 p.m. PT.
How do these two stack up?
Beltran: 29 years old | 6'1" | 75" reach
Rosa: 28 years old | 6'3" | 77" reach
What have these two done recently?
Beltran: L - Pat Barry (UD) | L - Matt Mitrione (UD) | W - Tim Hague (UD)
Rosa: W -Abe Wagner (SUB) | W - Devin Cole (UD) | W - Jay Peche (TKO)
How did these two get here?
Joey "The Mexicutioner" Beltran entered the UFC as a very-late replacement for Mustapha Al-Turk against Rolles Gracie at UFC 109. Most fans expected Beltran to be quickly submitted, but Rolles gassed horribly and Beltran picked up a second round TKO win. Beating a Gracie gave him a fair amount of recognition, and he continued on from there with a decision victory over Tim Hague at UFC 113. He's had a harder time of late, dropping two straight decisions to Matt Mitrione and Pat Barry, but showed a tremendous amount of toughness and heart and split a fight of the night bonus with Mitrione. He was expected to meet Dave Herman on this card, but all the injuries caused a bunch of shuffling and got him a new opponent.
Aaron Rosa has fought in nearly every organization that is broadcasted on television in North America, but this is his first shot at the big stage. He has competed at both heavyweight and light heavyweight in the past, with his most high-profile bout probably being a TKO loss to former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante. He has since won four fights in a row and got his ticket to the UFC after the card shakeup.
Why should you care?
These guys are gonna do some of that vaunted "stand and bang" stuff. If you like a good heavyweight tussle that's contested between two guys that are pretty hard to finish, this is for you.
Get the latest gear
