UFC
Aaron Rosa drops to light heavyweight, meets Fabio Maldonado at UFC on Versus 6 in October
Aug 17, 2011 - 10:10:55 AM Aaron Rosa drops to light heavyweight, meets Fabio Maldonado at UFC on Versus 6 in October

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

After losing his UFC debut in a heavyweight fight in June, Aaron Rosa will drop the light heavyweight division, and will take on Fabio Maldonado at UFC on Versus 6 on October 1.

The UFC announced the 205 lb. fight on Wednesday morning.

Rosa entered the UFC on a four fight win streak and a 16-3 record overall. However, after defeating Abe Wagner in a Titan Fighting Championships event in March, Rosa was taken out by Joey Beltran in his debut fight. The back and forth fight between the two was a very entertaining bout, though, and Rosa gets another fun matchup with Maldonado.

After defeating James McSweeney in his UFC debut, Maldonado took on Kyle Kingsbury in a closely contested fight at The Ultimate Fighter Finale in June. The Brazilian put forth a good effort, brutalizing Kingsbury's body with knees and punches throughout the three round fight, but ultimately he was edged out in the decision, losing for only the fourth time in his career.

UFC on Versus 6 takes place from the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C., headlined by a Bantamweight Championship fight between Dominick Cruz and Demetrious "Mighty Mouse" Johnson.

Penick's Analysis: This is an interesting matchup at 205 lbs. Rosa's not going to be a small light heavyweight, and Maldonado looked like he should move to the middleweight division down the line. There will be a significant size disparity in this fight, but that doesn't mean Maldonado doesn't have plenty to offer Rosa in the matchup. This should be a fun preliminary card scrap between these two, and it's a good fight for both to see where they'll go next.