Gilbert Yvel to face Ben Rothwell at UFC 115
by Giada Esposito on February 27, 2010

Gilbert Yvel is now expected to face Ben Rothwell when the UFC comes to Vancouver for the first time at UFC 115.

Yvel had initially been expected to face Pat Barry at the event, but that bout was scrapped in favor of a match-up between Mirko Cro Cop and Barry instead. Now, it appears that Yvel and Rothwell have agreed to face-off against each other.

For both Yvel and Rothwell, this fight will have extra urgency, as each are coming off of a loss in their UFC debuts. Given the recent spate of UFC roster cuts for fighters who fall short, failing to secure a victory at UFC 115 is likely to spell trouble for either of them.

Yvel (36-14-1 1 NC), has had a very busy and sometimes controversial MMA career. Three of his losses have come by way of DQ, for biting, eye-gouging, and most infamously, punching and kicking a referee. Still, Yvel remains a very dangerous striker, with 31 of his career wins coming by way of knockout or TKO, and it has been more than five years since his last DQ. Yvel lost to rising contender Junior dos Santos by way of first-round TKO at UFC 108 in his first UFC appearance.

Rothwell (30-7) had gone 14-1 in his last 15 matches prior to joining the UFC, with his only loss during that stretch coming at the hands of former UFC heavyweight champ Andrei Arlovski. He had initially been expected to face Mirko Cro Cop at UFC 110 in Australia, but was forced to withdraw from that bout due to illness. Rothwell last fought at UFC 104, where he lost via second-round TKO to Cain Velasquez.

Make sure to check back with us the day of the event for free, live, round-by-round coverage of UFC 115 right here at FiveKnuckles.com! Join expert analyst Mike Williams as he takes you through the entire fight card blow-by-blow and then keep it right here for all the post-fight news and notes you can handle!

 |  (8) Comments xdusty: great article jade. first ive heard of this fight. looking forward to yvel donkey kong smashing ben. The Hitman: i wanna see yvel tear shit up in the USA. KO time horizontalcracker: I'm rooting for Rothwell, after watching UFC Countdown when he fought Cain he seems like a decent guy. Yvel's past makes me think he's definitely not. War Rothwell. GO HARD: im hoping for yvel to kick some butt in this one. q; D that ref needed to be KOd. now the late shots, the biting.. thats not nice but i just think he gots a few screws loose. q; D
WHO WINS THE MAIN EVENT AT UFC 162 BETWEEN ANDERSON SILVA AND CHRIS WEIDMAN?
Silva via Decision
Silva via TKO/KO
Silva via Submission
Weidman via Decision
Weidman via TKO/KO
Weidman via Submission
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