Heavyweights Gabriel Gonzaga (8-3) and Justin McCully (8-3-2) are penciled in to tangle at UFC 86: "Jackson vs. Griffin" at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, on July 5, according to MMAWeekly.com.
Gonzaga is on a two-fight skid since smashing Mirko Cro Cop at UFC 70: "Nations Collide" with a devastating fight-ending head kick back in April 2007.
He earned a title shot against then-division champion, Randy Couture, which he lost via technical knockout (strikes) in round three at UFC 74: "Respect." "Napao" then failed to avenge the first loss of his career to Fabricio Werdum, losing to the Brazilian jiu-jitsu player via technical knockout just after two rounds at UFC 80: "Rapid Fire" earlier this year.
It's been quite a fall from grace for the Team Link member -- he was being touted as the next big thing in the heavyweight division after his upset of Cro Cop. Gonzaga will have his chance to get back on track against "The Insane One."
McCully has not competed in more than one year. In his most recent fight at UFC Fight Night 9, McCully outpointed Antoni Hardonk on all three judges scorecards en route to a unanimous decision win.
Even though he has not seen any action since April 2007, McCully has been linked to possible match ups against Cheick Kongo and Frank Mir while on hiatus. However, the Team Punishment camp member just returned from a USO tour in Iraq when the Kongo bout was proposed and the Mir fight was scratched when the former champion was tapped to coach on the next season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF).
Gonzaga and McCully share strengths (jiu-jitsu), which makes this a tough fight for McCully. That's because Gonzaga more than likely has the tighter ground game, as well as marked edge in the stand up.
But as we all know anything can and often does happen in mixed martial arts. That's the reason the fighters fight in the fights.
To check out the latest UFC 86 card click here.
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