The bad news: the pivotal welterweight shootout between contenders Rory MacDonald and Hector Lombard has been removed from the UFC 186 lineup. The good news: a flyweight title tilt between champion Demetrious Johnson (pictured) and Kyoji Horiguchi will now serve as the show’s new co-main attraction.
UFC officials confirmed the swap early Tuesday morning. No explanation was given for why MacDonald and Lombard were pulled from the show out side of “updates for both fighters will be provided when available.”
The April 25 event takes place inside Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
The card now features two championship affairs. A rematch between bantamweight champ TJ Dillashaw and the man he upset for the crown, Renan Barao, serves as the main event.
Johnson will be riding a seven-fight winning streak into the tango. “Mighty Mouse” was last seen submitting Chris Cariaso in September at UFC 178.
Horiguchi is perfect through his past nine outings, with the past four coming inside the octagon. The Japanese sensation posted a unanimous decision victory over Louis Gaudinot last month to solidify his top contender status.
Here is UFC 186’s revised roster:
Valerie Letourneau vs. Jessica Rakoczy
Thomas Almeida vs. Yves Jabouin
Olivier Aubin-Mercier vs. David Michaud
Patrick Cote vs. Joe Riggs
John Makdessi vs. Abel Trujillo
Michael Bisping vs. C.B. Dollaway
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Fabio Maldonado
Kyoji Horiguchi vs. Demetrious Johnson (UFC flyweight champion)
Renan Barao vs. T.J. Dillashaw (UFC bantamweight champion)
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