Brandon Vera (left) confirmed today, Thursday, that he will face Ben Rothwell at UFC 164 this summer. Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images.
Once he was a heavyweight, and now he will be again.
Brandon Vera confirmed via Twitter on Thursday that he will fight Ben Rothwell at UFC 164 in a heavyweight fight. The bout will be Vera’s first bout in the weight class since dropping to light heavyweight in 2008.
Vera (12-6, 1 N.C.) once fought for the UFC heavyweight title, a 2007 tilt with then-champion Tim Sylvia. The challenger lost the bout and collected his first career loss in the effort. Since then, Vera lost one more fight at heavyweight and has seen mixed results in dropping to the light heavyweight division, going 4-4 with one no-contest in that span.
Rothwell (32-9) last fought at UFC on FX 7 in a losing effort to Gabriel Gonzaga. His most notable win is a knockout of former Ultimate Fighter finalist Brendab Schaub at UFC 145, but the fighter has only gone 2-3 since coming to the UFC in 2009.
UFC 164 takes place on Aug. 31 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, and rumored appearances on the card by Alistair Overeem and Diego Sanchez have been reported by other outlets.
MMAjunkie.com first reported news of the Vera-Rothwell bout.
