Up-and-coming heavyweight hopeful Brendan Schaub (6-1) will face yet another gargantuan challenger when he collides with Gabriel Gonzaga (11-5) for a super-sized slugfest at UFC 121 on Oct. 23 from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
The incomparable "Showdown" Joe Ferraro first reported the match-up earlier today.
Schaub was an early favorite to win it all on the tenth season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF). In fact, the Denver dynamo plowed through the Spike TV reality show to earn a spot in the TUF 10 Finale last December.
Unfortunately "The Hybrid" saw his hype train temporarily derailed by portly powerhouse Roy Nelson, who went on to win the Finale and earn a spot in the suddenly-crowded heavyweight division.
It didn't take long for Schaub to recover and remind fans why he's such a highly touted prospect, knocking out Chase Gormley at UFC on Versus 1 and then repeating that performance against Chris Tuchscherer at UFC 116 earlier this month.
Trying to stop his ascension will be Gonzaga, whose ship has seemingly run aground after an electric start under the UFC banner.
In fact, after a 4-0 start with the promotion, "Napao" was one fight away from holding the heavyweight strap, until Randy Couture finished him at UFC 74: "Respect" in late 2007.
Since then, the Brazilian Yeti is an even 3-3 inside the Octagon, coming off a first round beatdown at the hands of Junior dos Santos at UFC on Versus 1 last March.
It's make or break time against Schaub.
Headlined by Brock Lesnar vs. Cain Velasquez, UFC 121 will also feature the Octagon debut of Jake Shields when he takes on Martin Kampmann.
Stay tuned to MMAmania.com for more information on this quickly-developing fight card.
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