UFC 146 shuffle: Roy Nelson to face Gabriel Gonzaga, Shane del Rosario to fight Stipe Miocic

After the announcement that the UFC will not wait for the results of Alistair Overeem‘s NSAC hearing and his subsequent replacement as number-one contender by Frank Mir, many scheduling changes had to be made on the UFC 146 card. First Cain Velasquez found a new opponent in the form of Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva. Now, it has been revealed that Roy “Big Country” Nelson will be fighting former UFC contender Gabriel Gonzaga instead of his original opponent Silva.

Gonzaga, well-known for his highlight-reel knockout of Mirko Filipovic, spent some time out of the UFC after a bit of a downswing. At one point a title challenger, he was handily beaten by the legendary Randy Couture. Originally slated to face Shane del Rosario at UFC 146, he will now find himself facing a more experienced opponent. Both Gonzaga and Nelson will have a lot to prove in this bout, as Gonzaga has only just returned to the UFC and Nelson has lost three out of his last four bouts.

With Gonzaga moved to a different fight, Shane del Rosario will now fight up-and-coming Heavyweight Stipe Miocic. Both fighters are undefeated and have proven to be fast-paced and aggressive fighters. Del Rosario has shown brutal Muay Thai skills in dispatching all eleven opponents he’s fought, and the only thing stopping him was a debilitating back injury he suffered when a drunk driver rear-ended him last year. Miocic is coming on strong after a knockout victory over previously undefeated Phil De Fries at UFC on Fuel TV 1, and has finished all but one of his fights.

After weeks of deliberation and shuffling, it appears that the UFC 146 card has finally materialized. While the highly-anticipated dos Santos/Overeem bout is now gone, many interesting bouts have been scheduled. Nelson and Gonzaga should be a great fight, and Stipe Miocic versus Shane del Rosario will be a great gauge as to how these young fighters will respond to the UFC Heavyweight division. The stage has been set, who will win at UFC 146, and what will the Heavyweight landscape look like after the dust settles?

Further Reading: UFC 146: Shane del Rosario – Giving back