In his first fight in 15 months due to a knee injury, Ben Rothwell (31-7 MMA, 1-1 UFC) meets fellow heavyweight Mark Hunt (6-7 MMA, 1-1 UFC) at UFC 135.
Officials recently announced that verbal agreements are in place for the fight.
Although not officially announced, UFC 135 takes place Sept. 24 at Pepsi Center in Denver. The night's main card, including a likely Jon Jones vs. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson championship headliner, airs on pay-per-view.
It's not clear if Rothwell vs. Hunt will be part of the broadcast.
Rothwell fights for the first time since UFC 115, where he scored a unanimous-decision victory over Gilbert Yvel. However, Rothwell tore his ACL during the fight and has been recovering ever since.
Prior to his first UFC victory and subsequent injury layoff, he signed with the UFC on the strength of a 14-1 run in organizations such as the IFL and Affliction. However, in his octagon debut, he suffered a second-round TKO loss to now-champ Cain Velasquez.
Hunt, a New Zealand kickboxer, is a former PRIDE fighter who joined the UFC in 2010 (due to contractual requirements after the UFC purchased PRIDE). Hunt, who also owns a 30-13 kickboxing record, suffered a submission loss to Sean McCorkle in his octagon debut but rebounded at UFC 127 in February with a knockout win over Chris Tuchscherer. The victory snapped a six-fight losing streak.
