The injury bug has taken a bite out of yet another Octagon show. Middleweight Karlos Vemola has been forced to withdraw from his UFC 155 scrap against Chris Leben.
Former Strikeforce fighter Derek Brunson (Pictured) has agreed to serve as a last-second substitute.
“UFC 155 Derek Brunson vs Chris Leben . Words can’t express how excited I am . Thank you Jesus !!! Time to show up !” Brunson posted on his personal Facebook Tuesday night.
Brunson is looking to rebound from back-to-back losses. He was last seen getting knocked out by Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza in August.
Leben was banned last November by the promotion after testing positive for Oxycodone and Oxymorphone (painkillers) following his UFC 138 loss to Mark Munoz. It marked the second time “The Crippler” had failed a drug exam.
The steroid Stanozolol was found in his system after losing to Michael Bisping at UFC 89 in October 2008.
The promotion has yet to officially announce the new scrap. It’s possible the 185-pound shootout will remain on the main card, but could get demoted to the prelims given the swap and recent addition of the lightweight bout between Jamie Varner and Melvin Guillard to the lineup.
UFC 155 takes place December 29th inside MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Here is the show’s revised roster:
Preliminary Card:
Leonard Garcia vs. TBD
John Moraga vs. Chris Cariaso
Phil DeFries vs. Todd Duffee
Jamie Varner vs. Melvin Guillard
Myles Jury vs. Michael Johnson
Erik Perez vs. Byron Bloodworth
Brad Pickett vs. Eddie Wineland
Main Card:
(Pay-Per-View 10PM ET/7PM PT)
Chris Leben vs. Derek Brunson
Alan Belcher vs. Yushin Okami
Tim Boetsch vs. Constantinos Philippou
Joe Lauzon vs. Jim Miller
Cain Velasquez vs. Junior dos Santos (UFC heavyweight champion)
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