Gian Villante will move up to the heavyweight division to face Ben Rothwell at UFC 249 in Brooklyn, NY on April 18. This was first reported by Newsday on Monday.
Villante is looking to bounce back from a loss at light heavyweight by TKO against Michal Oleksiejczuk at UFC Fight Night 145 on February 23, 2019. This upcoming fight will be Villante’s first fight in the heavyweight division in the UFC. Villante is a native New Yorker and his MMA record is 17-11.
Rothwell is coming off of a controversial TKO win against Stefan Struve at UFC on ESPN 7. The controversy stems from Rothwell unintentionally kicking Struve in the groin multiple times and the referee(Dan Miragliotta) convinced Struve to continue the fight, while Struve was visibly hurt. Rothwell has been a notable name in the UFC’s heavyweight division and his MMA record is 37-12.
The card will also feature a main event between lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Tony Ferguson.