Cro Cop vs. Barry and Rothwell vs. Yvel for UFC 115

In an unexpected twist the UFC has elected not to reschedule the Rothwell-Filipovic fight.

Ben Rothwell was originally scheduled to fight the Croatian striker at UFC 110 in Australia last weekend. But Ben withdrew from the fight due to an illness. It was widely believed that the UFC would capitalize on the pre-fight marketing, the good fortune of both fighters being in shape and match these two heavyweights together as quickly as possible. That no longer appears the case.

Instead Mirko "Cro Cop Filipovic will fight Pat Barry at UFC 115.

Pat Barry (5-1) had an extensive career fighting as a kick-boxer in K-1, where he went 18-6-1 before switching to mixed martial arts. On the surface this appears to be a tailored made fight for Filipovic. Pat fits the Croatian's skill-set perfectly while not possessing the physicality that caused Mirko fits when he fought a larger kick-boxer in Cheick Kongo. While "Cro Cop" walked through Anthony Perosh at UFC 110 WKR isn't ready to declare a renaissance for Filipovic. Even a a win over Barry should be viewed with a healthy dose of skepticism.

Pat Barry was originally expected to fight Gilbert Yvel at UFC 115 but the UFC has played the old switcheroo and Yvel will now fight Ben Rothwell.

Gilbert Yvel (36-14-1) is a seasoned veteran with a penchant of blowing his gasket on referees. Gilbert made his UFC debut at UFC 108 where he was TKO'd by Junior dos Santos. Ben Rothwell (30-7) also had the distinct pleasure of making his UFC debut against a blue chip prospect as he was TKO'd by Cain Velasquez in his UFC debut at UFC 104.

Rumored UFC 115 card after the jump.

• Chuck Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz
• Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Wanderlei Silva
• Patrick Barry vs. Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic
• Ben Rothwell vs. Gilbert Yvel
• Evan Dunham vs. Tyson Griffin
• Carlos Condit vs. Rory MacDonald
• Jesse Lennox vs. Mike Pyle
• Peter Sobotta vs. James Wilks