The game of light heavyweight musical chairs has officially come to an end. After UFC president Dana White announced Tito Ortiz’s last-minute substitute status, the company’s official website followed up by confirming the card’s new moniker.
“UFC 133: Evans vs. Ortiz” takes place August 6th inside the The Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Ortiz makes a quick turnaround from this month’s surprising submission victory over Ryan Bader at UFC 132 to headline the pay-per-view broadcast against Rashad Evans.
Evans was slated to stand opposite Phil Davis in the show, but the undefeated 205-pounder was abruptly forced out Monday with a knee injury. His exile quickly ignited some of the most intriguing 24 hours in MMA history.
Ortiz initially stated he wouldn’t be able to answer the bell, then pulled the ultimate switcheroo the following day. Prior to that, fellow former light heavyweight champ Lyoto Machida reportedly promised White he would step up on short-notice. When White called back to confirm the tango, Machida’s camp unexpectedly demanded “Anderson Silva money” to fight in Philly.
With the use of some vibrant four-letter words, White told them to stay in Brazil.
Outside of all that drama, the rest of the 12-bout roster remains the same.
Here is the card’s finalized lineup:
Preliminary Bouts:
Rafael Natal vs. Costantinos Phillippou
Mike Brown vs. Nam Phan
Mike Pierce vs. Johny Hendricks
Nick Pace vs. Ivan Menjivar
Brian Ebersole vs. Dennis Hallman
(Spike TV 8PM ET/5PM PT)
Rani Yahya vs. Chad Mendes
Alexander Gustafsson vs. Vladimir Matyushenko
Main Bouts:
(Pay-Per-View 9PM ET/6PM PT)
Mike Pyle vs. Rory MacDonald
Jorge Rivera vs. Alessio Sakara
Vitor Belfort vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama
Rich Franklin vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
Rashad Evans vs. Tito Ortiz
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