Heavyweight action is joining the UFC’s March 13 card.
Shortly after “Big” Ben Rothwell teased that he had fight news coming, Brazil’s Combate broke the news that he would be facing off with former PFL champ Philipe Lins.
The fight will see Rothwell (38-13) and Lins (14-5) both looking to get back in the win column. For Lins in particular, the fight is key: after winning a million dollars in the PFL in 2018, the Brazilian has lost both his octagon outings since joining the UFC.
Those fights both came in 2020, with Lins losing a decision to Andrei Arlovski in his debut. In his follow-up bout, the 35-year old was knocked out by Canada’s Tanner Boser.
Rothwell, a longtime veteran of the heavyweight ranks all the way back to the IFL days, had a two fight win streak snapped last time out, when Marcin Tybura took him the distance to win a unanimous decision. Prior to that loss, Rothwell had picked up wins over Stefan Struve and Ovince Saint Preux, the latter moonlighting from light heavyweight.
The UFC’s March 13 event does not yet have a location or venue announced. It is expected to be headlined by a welterweight clash between Khamzat Chimaev and Leon Edwards. The following bouts have also been linked to the card:
Leon Edwards vs. Khamzat Chimaev
Davey Grant vs. Jonathan Martinez
Ray Rodriguez vs. Rani Yahya
Jason Witt vs. Matthew Semelsberger
Jinh Yu Frey vs. Gloria de Paula
Ciryl Gane vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
Matheus Nicolau vs. Tagir Ulanbekov
Dan Ige vs. Ryan Hall
Eryk Anders vs. Darren Stewart
Ricardo Ramos vs. Zubaira Tukhugov
Don Madge vs. Guram Kutateladze
Charles Jourdain vs. Steve Garcia
Ben Rothwell vs. Philipe Lins
