A change has been made to the upcoming UFC on FX 8 card in Brazil as Ultimate Fighter Brasil winner Cezar “Mutante” Ferreira will face a new opponent after C.B. Dollaway suffered an undisclosed injury, forcing him off the card (BloodyElbow.com).
UFC officials announced on Monday that Dollaway, a former Ultimate Fighter finalist himself, fell to injury during his training camp and would be unable to fight on May 18 at the next major UFC on FX card.
In his place will step another Ultimate Fighter alum as Colorado fighter Chris Camozzi gets the call to travel back to Brazil and face Ferreira in his home country.
A winner of four fights in a row, Camozzi gets a quick turnaround following his last fight where he defeated Nick Ring at UFC 158 in Montreal in mid-March.
This will be Camozzi‘s second trip to Brazil in less than a year. He went there in October 2012 and picked up a unanimous decision victory over Luis Cane.
Now Camozzi will step up on short notice to try to defeat the first-ever Ultimate Fighter: Brasil champion right in his own backyard.
It’s been a strange trip for Ferreira to finally get back in the Octagon after taking part in the inaugural season of TUF: Brasil in 2012. Ferreira was coached by close friend and mentor Vitor Belfort as the first pick for his team and gave dominant performances to make the finals.
Unfortunately, injury struck down Ferreira‘s original opponent, Daniel Sarafian, and he instead defeated fellow TUF cast member Sergio Moraes to win the season title. Since that time, Ferreira has been on the sidelines out of action and when he returns in May, it will have been nearly one year since his last bout.
Stylistically the fight is also a big change for the Brazilian as he transitions from a wrestling-first fighter like Dollaway to a dangerous striker in Camozzi.
Ferreira will undoubtedly have the support of his home country fans on his side, however, as well as the moral support of his former coach Vitor Belfort, who fights in the main event on the same card against Luke Rockhold.
Damon Martin is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report
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