Undefeated heavyweight Shane Del Rosario will make his UFC debut at UFC 146 in May. Photo Credit: Esther Lin/Strikeforce

Diego Brandao vs. Darren Elkins and Kyle Kingsbury vs. Glover Teixeira also added to the card

By FCF Staff

Undefeated heavyweight rising star Shane Del Rosario (11-0) will make his highly-anticipated return to the cage against  Gabriel Gonzaga (13-6)  at UFC 146 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. on May 26.

In addition, a featherweight (145 pounds) matchup between Diego Brandao (14-7) and  Darren Elkins (13-2) and a light heavyweight (205 pounds) matchup between Kyle Kingsbury (11-3) and Glover Teixeira (17-2) are slated for the fight card.

Del Rosario will make his first start since he submitted (armbar) Lavar Johnson in the first round of their Strikeforce matchup on Feb. 12, 2011.    He has been sidelined since suffering a herniated disc in a car accident caused by a drunk driver who rear-ended the vehicle that Del Rosario was in.

The 32-year-old Gonzaga is coming off a first round submission (rear-naked choke) victory over Ednaldo Oliveira at UFC 142 on Jan. 14.  The fight was Gonzaga’s first bid in his second UFC stint since being released after a unanimous decision defeat to Brendan Schaub at UFC 121 on Oct. 23, 2010.

Brandao’s start will be his first since he pulled off a “Submission of the Night” victory over Dennis Bermudez in the final “The Ultimate Fighter” season 14 contest.  Brandao was also awarded “Fight of the Night” for his performance against Bermudez.
Elkins is looking for his third straight victory at 145 pounds after dropping down from 155 pounds.  He earned back-to-back decision wins over Tiequan Zhang and Michihiro Omigawa in 2011 at featherweight.

Kingsbury, an alumni of “The Ultimate Fighter” season 8 and a member of Team AKA in San Jose, Calif.,  is looking to return to the win column after suffering a unanimous decision loss to Stephan Bonnar at UFC 139 on Nov. 19, 2011. Prior to the loss, Kingsbury had notched four straight wins in The Octagon.

Teixeira’s start will mark his UFC debut.  The 32-year-old Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt is in the midst of a 15-fight win streak that has spanned six years.  Amongst those he’s defeated are former UFC Heavyweight Champion Ricco Rodriguez and Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou.