Dave Herman vs. Seth Petruzelli Booked for Feb 16. EliteXC Show

Up-and-coming heavyweight Dave “Pee Wee” Herman (9-0) will make his EliteXC debut against veteran fighter and “The Ultimate Fighter 2? cast member Seth Petruzelli (9-4) at next month’s EliteXC event.

Herman’s camp notified MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) of the recent booking earlier today.

The event, which airs on Showtime, takes place Feb. 16 at the University of Miami’s UnitedBank Center. Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson meets veteran brawler David “Tank” Abbott in the night’s main event, and Antonio Silva takes on former UFC heavyweight champ Ricco Rodriguez in a main-card bout.

The Herman vs. Petruzelli bout will also take place at the heavyweight division.

As MMAjunkie.com first reported a few weeks ago, Herman, one of the Midwest’s top heavyweight prospects, recently signed a multi-fight deal with EliteXC.

The 23-year-old has fought almost monthly since turning pro in December 2006. Fighting primarily for the Indianapolis-based Legends of Fighting organization, the undefeated 6-foot-5 250-pounder has posted six of his nine victories via knockout. Every win was a first-round stoppage.

The first real test of his young career will come against Petruzelli, a King of the Cage vet who earned a spot on the second season of the UFC’s reality series. There, he was one of the cast’s smallest heavyweights, but Petruzelli defeated veteran fighter Dan Christison in the show’s opening round. However, he was knocked out of the competition when he suffered a close split-decision loss to eventual show runner-up Brad Imes in a semifinal fight.

Petruzelli is 2-2 since his time on the show, going 0-2 in the UFC (with losses to Matt Hamill and Wilson Gouveia) and 2-0 outside the organization.

The latest rumored Feb. 16 EliteXC card now includes:

• 
  
• Tank Abbott vs. Kimbo Slice
• Ricco Rodriguez vs. Antonio Silva
• Yves Edwards vs. Edson Berto
• Dave Herman vs. Seth Petruzelli
• Kyle Noke vs. Scott Smith
• Brett Roges vs. James Thompson

(MMAjunkie.com contributor “PhyteGuru” contributed to this report.)