Soa Palelei vs. Jared Rosholt added to UFC Fight Night 43 in New Zealand

A heavyweight matchup between the hard-hitting Soa Palelei (21-3 MMA, 3-1 UFC) and wrestling specialist Jared Rosholt (10-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) has been added to UFC Fight Night 43.

UFC officials today confirmed the new matchup after an initial report from The New Zealand Herald.

Featuring a middleweight headliner of Nate Marquardt vs. James Te Huna, “UFC Fight Night 43: Te Huna vs. Marquardt” takes place June 28 at Vector Arena in Auckland, New Zealand.

The entire event streams in the U.S. on UFC Fight Pass, though a bout order has not yet been revealed.

Palelei wastes little time booking his return outing after picking up a quick knockout win over Ruan Potts at UFC Fight Night 40. The lure of fighting close to his native Australia certainly played a role in his willingness to return to action so rapidly.

After a failed UFC debut in 2007, Palelei returned to the promotion in August 2013 and has quickly rattled off three consecutive wins.

Meanwhile, Rosholt is a former three-time All-American wrestler and current Team Takedown fighter who fought most recently in April, earning a slow-paced decision win over Daniel Omielanczuk at UFC Fight Night 39 in Abu Dhabi. The result kept Rosholt’s octagon mark unblemished following a hard-fought November win over Walt Harris.

With the change to the card, the UFC Fight Night 43 lineup now includes:

• Nate Marquardt vs. James Te Huna
• Hatsu Hioki vs. Charles Oliveira
• Soa Palelei vs. Jared Rosholt
• Vik Grujic vs. Chris Indich
• Robert Whittaker vs. Mike Rhodes
• Sean O’Connell vs. Gian Villante
• Jon Delos Reyes vs. Richie Vaculik

For more on “UFC Fight Night 43: Te Huna vs. Marquardt”, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: Soa Palelei)