The UFC is working on a heavyweight matchup between Swedish MMA legend Alexander Gustafsson and American veteran Ben Rothwell.
Both parties have agreed to fight on the UFC Fight Night card on May 21, Frontkick.online confirmed with sources. A venue has not yet been determined for the event.
Alexander Gustafsson changed his mind on 205 return
This will be Alexander Gustafsson’s second heavyweight fight as he returns to the octagon after nearly two years on the sideline. In his most recent bout, “The Mauler” lost to former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum by first-round submission.
Gustafsson previously competed in the light heavyweight division where he challenged for the belt three times, including two razor-close decision losses to Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier. His first title fight against Jones is still considered one of the best fights of all time and was recently inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame.
The 35-year-old swede was actually scheduled to return to 205 against Paul Craig this past fall, as Frontkick previously revealed. However, that fight was later canceled due to injury and apparently, Gustafsson has since decided to stay around at heavyweight.
Ben Rothwell to make his 18th UFC appearance
Ben Rothwell, on the other hand, has competed at heavyweight for the entirety of is MMA career including 17 bouts in the UFC. At one point, he was ranked in the top five and on his way to a title shot after having finished four fights in a row including a TKO win over Alistair Overeem and a rare submission victory against Josh Barnett.
His title aspirations was then halted when he lost a unanimous decision to former champion Junior Dos Santos. Shortly after, he accepted a two-year suspension due to a USADA violation.
At this point, Rothwell is unranked and has lost two of his last three fights. The 40-year-old last fought back in November, losing to Marcos Rogerio de Lima by TKO after just 32 seconds.
Alexander Gustafsson vs Ben Rothwell is expected to be officially confirmed by the UFC soon. Remember where you heard it first and make sure to follow Frontkick.online on Twitter for more MMA and UFC news out of Sweden!
