Shortly after Riki Fukuda revealed a serious leg injury from a car accident would force him out of his middleweight tussle against Rafael Natal, Costas Philippou instantly agreed to play substitute and meet Natal at “UFC 133: Evans vs. Davis.”
Although no official announcement from the organization has been made, Natal confirmed the situation on his Twitter account.
The show takes place August 6th inside the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Octagon’s long awaited return to the City of Brotherly Love will be headlined by a light heavyweight scrap between former champ Rashad Evans and fast-rising star Phil Davis.
A 205-pound affair with Rich Franklin and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira will serve as the show’s co-main event.
The pay-per-view broadcast begins live at 9PM ET/6PM PT.
Here are the athletes expected to perform in Philly:
Preliminary Bouts:
Rafael Natal vs. Costas Philippou
Mike Pierce vs. Johny Hendricks
Nick Pace vs. Ivan Menjivar
Mike Brown vs. Nam Phan
Brian Ebersole vs. Dennis Hallman
Rani Yahya vs. Chad Mendes
Alexander Gustafsson vs. Vladimir Matyushenko
Main Bouts:
Mike Pyle vs. Rory MacDonald
Jorge Rivera vs. Alessio Sakara
Vitor Belfort vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama
Rich Franklin vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
Rashad Evans vs. Phil Davis