The UFC 146 card is coming together nicely, and you can add a solid heavyweight fight to the quickly-expanding list of fights scheduled for May 26th in Las Vegas. Former UFC heavyweight title challenger Gabriel Gonzaga will face the undefeated Shane Del Rosario, formerly of Strikeforce. The news was passed along late tonight by the official source for fight announcements, UFC.com.
Gonzaga returned to the the big time at UFC 142 after a 14 month absence and defeated top prospect Ednaldo Oliveira by submission. He is well-known to UFC fans for his head-kick knockout of Mirko Cro Cop at UFC 70 in 2007, and his unsuccessful attempt at taking the UFC heavyweight title from Randy Couture at UFC 74. Consecutive losses to Junior dos Santos and Brendan Schaub in 2010 led to his release from the company and subsequent retirement, but he returned a year later with a minor league win and got back into the UFC as a late replacement for Rob Broughton.
Del Rosario worked his way up through EliteXC, M-1, and Strikeforce, eventually racking up an 11-0 record with 11 finishes. He was scheduled to face Daniel Cormier last June, but was involved in a serious car accident that has sidelined him until now.
The bout will likely take place on the preliminary card.