Del Rosario (11-0) will be making his UFC debut on the card after scoring several wins in Strikeforce. His original opponent, Gabriel Gonzaga, was recently moved into a match-up with Roy Nelson on the same card.

By comparison, Miocic (8-0) has won both of his UFC fights, topping Joey Beltran and Phil De Fries.

UFC President Dana White confirmed via Twitter early Tuesday morning while in Brazil for a press conference.

PHOTO CREDIT – STRIKEFORCE/UFC

Gonzaga (13-6) is a  returned to the organization recently with a submission victory over Ednaldo Oliveira at UFC 142. He also holds a memorable past win over Mirko Filipovic where the BJJ specialist crumpled “Cro Cop” with a head-kick.

Comparably, Del Rosario (11-0) has been on the sidelines since early in 2011 due to injuries suffered during a car crash. Del Rosario was slated to face Daniel Cormier before the accident and has not fought since. All of his victories have involved some form of finish with ten coming in the opening round of action.

UFC 146 takes place May 26 from Las Vegas, Nevada. No main event has been announced but the card is expected to host heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos defending his title against Alistair Overeem. Match-ups already set for the lineup include C.B. Dollaway vs. Jason Miller and Dan Hardy vs. Duane Ludwig.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC/STRIKEFORCE

Del Rosario sports a perfect 11-0 record but has been out of action since last February after suffering injuries in a car accident. Del Rosario was rear-ended by a drunk driver, knocking him out of a planned bout with current Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix finalist Daniel Cormier.

“Would like to congratulate Shane del Rosario (11-0) on signing with the UFC,” House, who works for Iridium Sports Agency, posted on his Twitter account.

Along with stops in EliteXC and M-1 Challenge, Del Rosario had made Strikeforce his home as of late. Of his eleven career wins, ten have come in the first round and the lone exception resulted in a second stanza stoppage.

Zuffa recently announced the Strikeforce heavyweight division would be dissolved and absorbed in some fashion by the UFC over the coming months. Del Rosario’s signing shows the UFC is bringing in the best of the best to form what could be one of the deepest divisions in all of MMA.

No opponent for Del Rosario has been announced as of yet, or the date for his UFC debut.

PHOTO CREDIT – STRIKEFORCE

The news was first reported by MMAJunkie.com

While stopped at a red light in California, Del Rosario was struck by an alleged intoxicated driver. The accident totaled Del Rosario’s car and left the fighter badly injured. According to Del Rosario’s trainer, Colin Oyama, Shane is having, “serious physical difficulties” that will keep him out of training for another two or three months. Del Rosario hopes to fight again but he must first go through rehab.

The undefeated Rosario has taken the MMA world by storm in recent years with 11 finishes in 11 fights and 10 of them coming in the first round. His most recent victory came via first round armbar against Lavar Johnson at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Silva.

Strikeforce is currently looking for a replacement fight for the June 18 event in Texas. A lightweight showdown between strikers KJ Noons vs. Jorge Masvidal has been heavily rumored but nothing is official.

Carano’s presence on the line-up was revealed Saturday night during the broadcast for “Strikeforce – Diaz vs. Daley” though no opponent was mentioned. An interview with CEO Scott Coker on MMAFighting revealed 5-1 Cindy Dandois had originally been scheduled but had to withdraw after finding out she was pregnant.

A bout pitting undefeated prospects Daniel Cormier (7-0) and Shane Del Rosario (11-0) against each other was also announced, in addition to a match-up between Chad Griggs (10-1) and Valentijn Overeem (29-25), as means of potentially determining an alternate in the heavyweight tournament if one is needed.

Overeem, older brother of Grand Prix participant Alistair, has won three straight fights including his Strikeforce debut in February against Ray Sefo and has remarkably finished twenty-eight of the twenty-nine opponents he’s beaten. Griggs has also been on a tear as of late with five consecutive victories including four first round TKOs.

Meanwhile, Cormier and Del Rosario are considered to be two of the brightest up-and-big boys in the sport given their combined eighteen wins and zero losses. Cormier, a decorated amateur wrestler, has ended six of his adversaries’ evenings before the bout’s closing bell while Del Rosario has yet to even see the seventh minute in any of his eleven professional pairings.

PHOTO CREDIT – STRIKEFORCE

Del Rosario spoke about the situation in a conversation with Sherdog Radio where he dismissed the seriousness involved while elaborating on why he had no problem with skipping the tournament altogether.

“If I don’t make it into the tournament this year…it’s not a big deal. I would rather actually have another four fights this year if possible and just earn my own spot into the tournament next year”, he explained while also paying tribute to Fedor by mentioning it was an honor to have simply fought on the same card as him.

“I’m at eleven fights. I’d like to get to at least fifteen, just get more ring time,” Del Rosario continued. “All of my fights have been finished in the first round, which has been good. I like to get out and win right away and have an exciting fight, but I kind of lack some round time, some experience in the cage.”

However, if Strikeforce comes calling the Californian kickboxer has no intentions of declining, saying he would “definitely take the opportunity” if they want him to replace an injured competitor.

Del Rosario earned the honor of serving as an alternate by emerging with his hands raised against Lavar Johnson via first-round Armbar on February 12 at “Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Silva”. It was his sixth straight victory in the opening frame of action and third in a Strikeforce ring.

Some of the biggest names in MMA’s heavyweight division have been assembled for the Strikeforce World Grand Prix. Some are calling the tournament a throwback to the glory days of the PRIDE Fighting Championships. It all starts on Saturday February 12, when Emelianenko, arguably the greatest fighter in the history of the sport, faces off against the mammoth Antonio “Big Foot” Silva. However, just like Rocky Balboa got his one-in-a-million chance against champion Apollo Creed on screen, a largely unknown fighter may just get the chance to crash this party of heavyweight greats. On the undercard to Fedor vs. Silva, up-and-coming heavyweights Shane Del Rosario and Lavar Johnson will fight for the opportunity to be an alternate in the Grand Prix should one of the headliners gets injured.

Del Rosario, the 28-year-old Orange County, CA native who may get this chance of a lifetime, is far from a typical mixed martial artist. Unlike many fighters of this generation, Del Rosario did not grow up watching UFC 1 and idolizing Royce Gracie. “I was more the kind of person to just go out and do it instead of watching it,” he recalls. Growing up near the beach in Dana Point, Del Rosario surfed and played basketball as a youth. On a whim, he and a bunch of friends in high school started training with UFC pioneer Marco Ruas. After getting his psychology degree at UC Irvine, Del Rosario had to make a choice: go to graduate school or give the fight game a shot.

In 2005, just as the sport was starting to explode thanks to The Ultimate Fighter, Del Rosario made the decision to join Colin Oyama’s fight team with friend and fellow fighter, Rob Emerson. Oyama, veteran trainer who had worked with the likes of Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Tito Ortiz, concentrated on his young protégé’s stand up skills, eventually guiding Del Rosario to his first belt, a WBC Heavyweight title in Muay Thai. But as his ground game developed, thanks to Jiu-Jitsu coach and BJJ champion Giva Santana, Strikeforce came calling and signed the heavyweight prospect. Now, the undefeated fighter is on the cusp of stardom. The possibility of competing with some of the all-time great heavyweights is no longer just a dream.

However, the road to this golden opportunity was not an easy one. In a 2009 fight against Brandon Cash, Del Rosario was blasted by a huge right hand within the first 20 seconds of the bout and on the brink of a crushing knockout defeat. “That was definitely my toughest fight. I thought he double-legged me. I didn’t know I got dropped with a punch.” But he was able to weather the storm and eventually submit Cash with an Omoplata. “I learned that I can take a punch and that I can relax and do my thing (on the ground). Just because you’re a good striker, that doesn’t mean you’re not going to get hit,” says Del Rosario.

But before he can get to that next level, he must face another fighter on the brink of stardom: Johnson, who just happens to be Cash’s teammate. “We’re kind of in the same position. I’m 10-0 and I think he’s 13-3. He’s a big guy and he’s got a big right hand,” Del Rosario states, referencing the fact that, at 240 lbs., he is considered by many to be a “small” heavyweight. “I’m quicker and have better footwork than most heavyweights,” Del Rosario states when talking about what advantages he brings to the table against larger opponents. “I want to fight like a lighter weight guy. One of my teammates and coaches, Romie Adanza, I always try to mimic him. He fights at like 118-127 (lbs.). If I can do that at the heavyweight level, I’m going to pose a lot of problems for a lot of heavyweights.”

Does a fighter like Del Rosario, with just a fraction of the experience of some of the big-time names in this tournament, have a chance to win it all? If he gets by Johnson this Saturday, we may just find out.

Fans can catch “Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Silva” live tomorrow night on Showtime starting at 9:00 PM EST!

PHOTO CREDIT – STRIKEFORCE

According to separate reports by MMAJunkie, Shane Del Rosario will put his undefeated record on the line against Lavar Johnson at the event, while Valentijn Overeem, older brother of Strikeforce champ and tournament participant Alistair Overeem, will fight storied kickboxer Ray “Sugarfoot” Sefo.

Del Rosario will enter the cage against Johnson with a 10-0 record and nine first-frame finishes including seven by way of strikes. However, while the 26-year old may pack power in his hands, he’s also submitted two opponents including an Omoplata victory in November 2009. Johnson provides an intriguing challenge for Del Rosario, as he is a 15-3 striker riding a seven-fight win streak with six opening round TKOs of his own in the bunch.

Sefo’s scrap with Overeem substitutes experience for youth in comparison to its “reserve” peer, though provides an interesting pairing for long-time fans of Mixed Martial Arts and combat sports in general. Sefo is kickboxing champion and multi-time K-1 World Grand Prix finalist, while the Dutchman he’s facing may only be 28-25 but has remarkably finished twenty-seven of the twenty-eight adversaries he’s found success against (eleven TKOs and sixteen submissions).

The duo of reserve bouts join Emelianenko’s quarter-final clash against Antonio Silva, as well as another opening round affair between Andrei Arlovski and Sergei Kharitonov. The other four main-bracket participants in the tournament are Overeem (A.), who is expected to defend his belt against Fabricio Werdum in March, as well as Brett Rogers and Josh Barnett who are also targeted for a fight on the same card.

Previous rumors of the possibility of the two fast rising prospects facing off during the card that will take place from Sunrise, Florida were widespread in recent weeks after a big “TBA” was listed as Lashley’s opponent for the upcoming event, but FiveOuncesofPain.com has recently been able to confirm through Del Rosario himself that the bout between the two will in fact, not be happening.

Not on January 30 at least.

However, according to Del Rosario the rumors were much more than pure gossip as the bout was absolutely on the table. As a matter of fact, not only was the match-up on the table, it was actually agreed to by both sides at one point according to Shane.

“They asked me if I wanted to do it and I said, ‘Yeah, let’s do it for sure’,” explained Del Rosario. “Then they’re like, “Alright, well we’ll get back to you”, and they got back to me and it was a no.

“But it did seem like it was going to happen at first so I was really excited. But I kind of had it in the back of my mind that it wasn’t really a good decision for his camp. They said that he already said yes and they said , “Well it’s up to you”, so we were like, ‘Alright, let’s do this!’. I don’t know if they didn’t really expect for us to say that, but you know, whatever.

“He’s a very athletic guy, so I’m sure if he’s doing well we might meet again some other time.”

With that out of the way, Shane is currently free to set his sights on a return to Strikeforce in March, as the California based knockout specialist went on to further confirm to 5 Oz. that fellow slugger Lavar Johnson is being looked at as a possible opponent for his March return.

Del Rosario currently sports an unblemished record of 9-0 with not a single one of his nine victories making it to the judges scorecards. With 7 knockouts and 2 submissions, Shane left a huge exclamation mark in his Strikeforce debut against Brandon Cash “Money”, as the former US WBC Muay Thai champion managed to gather his senses after being leveled at the hands of Money to hit the massive brawler in a grizzly omoplata Five Ounces deemed to be the third nastiest submission of 2009.

Lashley is still expected to compete at “Strikeforce: Miami”, but no opponent has been named for him at this time.

Also expected to make his promotional debut on the card will be former decorated NFL running back, Herschel Walker, who’s opponent is also expected to be announced in the coming days.

Stay tuned to 5 Oz. as we continue to keep you up to date on any further developments stemming from this card.

However, Del Rosario became sidelined after the event due to a broken hand sustained in the victory. The Team Oyama fighter spent signficiant time on the shelf and saw his weight increase to 260 pounds.

However, Del Rosario is set to return to action Wednesday night in Tokyo, Japan as a part of Team USA West as it takes on South Korea in the M-1 Challenge. Currently undefeated at 5-0, the 25-year old will be gunning for his sixth win when he takes on Doo Hee Lee at Differ Ariake.

However, Del Rosario’s tenure as a part of the M-1 Challenge could be short lived, as the former high school basketball standout revealed to FiveOuncesOfPain.com Tuesday that his contract was one of 42 acquired by Strikeforce during its acquisition of select assets from ProElite earlier this year.

According to Del Rosario, he is now signed with Strikeforce and indicates that he could debut for the organization as early as August.

For Del Rosario, his time away from active fighting was not easy. His broken hand prevented him from accepting an offer to compete during January’s Affliction “Day of Reckoning” event and has delayed his potential transition from heavyweight to light heavyweight. When asked whether a move down to the 205 pound weight class was still under consideration, Del Rosario acknowledged the possibility but was uncertain as to when he’ll formally make the move.

Both Gusmao and Al-Hussan will be making their UFC debuts. According to the report, no reason was immediately given for Drwal’s absence from the card. This would be the second time in a row now that Drwal has had to pull out of a fight in the UFC. He pulled out of a fight against David Heath in February due to a knee injury but it’s unknown if his absence from the UFC 87 card is at all related to the same injury.

Al-Hussan is a Midwestern prospect who carries an undefeated 5-0 record coming into the fight and four of his five victories have come by way of TKO or submission. Gusmao is also 5-0 in his career with four of his victories coming in the IFL.

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