Kimbo-Slice-slayer Seth Petruzelli (12-4) has rejoined the UFC after three-years away from the promotion and will face newcomer Ricardo Romero in a light-heavyweight bout set for the un-aired preliminary portion of UFC 116 in July.

Petruzelli announced the bout on his official Twitter account.

"Ready for HUGE news," Petruzelli asked in the post. "I'm fighting for UFC 116 July 2nd! In Vegas against Ricardo Romero...its KO time!"

During his time away from the UFC, Petruzelli made headlines after he famously knocked out Kimbo Slice just 14 seconds into their bout in the main event of Elite XC: "Heat" in October 2008 in what is one of the most-watched fights in the history of the sport.

Slice was originally slated to meet Ken Shamrock, who was forced off the card last minute after he suffered a cut in warm ups.

However, Petruzelli's win didn't come without controversy, as he made a appearance on The Monsters In The Morning radio show just days after his win over Slice, where he said some rather interesting things.

"The promoters kinda hinted to me and they gave me the money to stand and throw with him, they didn't want me to take him down," said Petruzelli on the show. "Let's just put it that way. It was worth my while to try and stand up punch him."

Petruzelli would go on to retract those comments, however, the damage was done and the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation opened an investigation into the fight and promotion. It was later determined that there was no wrongdoing.

Petruzelli has won his last four bouts, most recently defeating Ryan White via first round submission at BAMMA 3 on May 15. He has not suffered a defeat since UFC Fight Night 9 in April 2007, when he was defeated by Wilson Gouveia. Shortly after the loss, the UFC parted ways with him after going 0-2 with the promotion, with a previous Octagon loss against Matt Hamill.

Petruzelli opened his UFC career, as a cast member on The Ultimate Fighter 2 as a heavyweight. He defeated Dan Christison in the opening round but went onto lose in the semi-finals to Brad Imes.

The King of the Cage, WEC and Ultimate Warrior Challenge has finished 10 of his 12 career wins by TKO or KO, and holds notable career wins during his almost ten-year career over Rocky Batastini and Dan Severn.

Romero was originally rumored to make his Octagon debut against Steve Cantwell, who recently got re-licensed to compete after an undisclosed issue with his medical paperwork.

Romero is currently on a five-fight winning streak, with his most recent win coming over Silmar Rodrigo at Ring of Combat 27 in November. He previously suffered his only career loss against Glen Sandull in September 2008.

The longtime Ring of Combat veteran has put together a nearly perfect 10-1 MMA record since making his pro debut in September 2007, with stoppages coming in all but one of his 10 wins. The AMA Fight Club product holds notable career wins over John Doyle, Karen Grigoryan and current UFC heavyweight James McSweeney.

UFC 116 takes place on July 3 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, NV and is headlined by a UFC heavyweight title unification bout between UFC heavyweight champion...

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