Uriah Faber out, Alex Cacares in against Masanori Kanehara at UFC Fight Night Japan

Urijah Faber has withdrawn from his scheduled bantamweight clash against Masenori Kanehara at UFC Fight Night 52, and as a result, Alex Cacares, the TUF 12 veteran who saw his five-fight unbeaten streak snapped by Faber in July, has been slotted as a replacement.

UFC officials recently updated the promotion’s Japanese website to reflect the change, as first noticed by Sherdog.com.

Despite his loss to Faber, Cacares (10-6, 1 NC) appears to have turned a corner in his career of late. The 26-year-old, who commonly goes by his moniker “Bruce Leeroy,” carries an impressive 6-2 record since dropping down to 135 pounds, although one of those victories, a split decision over Kang Kyung-Ho, was ultimately overturned due to a positive drug test for marijuana.

Cacares’ biggest career win came earlier this year at UFC on FOX 10 when he handed Sergio Pettis, the younger brother of UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis, his first and only career loss. Caceres upset the up-and-coming prospect via third-round rear-naked choke to earn both ‘Fight of the Night’ and ‘Submission of the Night’ honors.

Now he’ll face a grizzled veteran in Kanehara (23-11-5). The 31-year-old makes his UFC debut on the heels of a remarkable 6-1 run highlighted by five first-round finishes. A mainstay of the Japanese mixed martial arts scene since 2003, Kanehara has notched several notable victories in his time, including wins over Chan Sung Jung, Michihiro Omigawa, and Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto.

UFC Fight Night 52 takes place September 20th at Saitama Arena at Saitama, Japan. The event is slated to stream live on UFC Fight Pass.

Additionally, as expected, Amir Sadollah has replaced Kyle Noke against Yoshihiro Akiyama after Noke withdrew earlier this week due to knee injury. That bout, which was previously reported by MMAFighting.com, is now official.

An updated UFC Fight Night 52 fight card can be seen below.

  • Mark Hunt vs. Roy Nelson
  • Takanori Gomi vs. Myles Jury
  • Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Amir Sadollah
  • Miesha Tate vs. Rin Nakai
  • Alex Caceres vs. Masanori Kanehara
  • Katsunori Kikuno vs. Sam Sicilia
  • Hyun Gyu Lim vs. Takenori Sato
  • Kiichi Kunimoto vs. Richard Walsh
  • Kyoji Horiguchi vs. Jon Delos Reyes
  • Kyung Ho Kang vs. Michinori Tanaka
  • Johnny Case vs. Kazuki Tokudome
  • Maximo Blanco vs. Daniel Hooker

Urijah Faber has withdrawn from his scheduled bantamweight clash against Masenori Kanehara at UFC Fight Night 52, and as a result, Alex Cacares, the TUF 12 veteran who saw his five-fight unbeaten streak snapped by Faber in July, has been slotted as a replacement.

UFC officials recently updated the promotion’s Japanese website to reflect the change, as first noticed by Sherdog.com.

Despite his loss to Faber, Cacares (10-6, 1 NC) appears to have turned a corner in his career of late. The 26-year-old, who commonly goes by his moniker “Bruce Leeroy,” carries an impressive 6-2 record since dropping down to 135 pounds, although one of those victories, a split decision over Kang Kyung-Ho, was ultimately overturned due to a positive drug test for marijuana.

Cacares’ biggest career win came earlier this year at UFC on FOX 10 when he handed Sergio Pettis, the younger brother of UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis, his first and only career loss. Caceres upset the up-and-coming prospect via third-round rear-naked choke to earn both ‘Fight of the Night’ and ‘Submission of the Night’ honors.

Now he’ll face a grizzled veteran in Kanehara (23-11-5). The 31-year-old makes his UFC debut on the heels of a remarkable 6-1 run highlighted by five first-round finishes. A mainstay of the Japanese mixed martial arts scene since 2003, Kanehara has notched several notable victories in his time, including wins over Chan Sung Jung, Michihiro Omigawa, and Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto.

UFC Fight Night 52 takes place September 20th at Saitama Arena at Saitama, Japan. The event is slated to stream live on UFC Fight Pass.

Additionally, as expected, Amir Sadollah has replaced Kyle Noke against Yoshihiro Akiyama after Noke withdrew earlier this week due to knee injury. That bout, which was previously reported by MMAFighting.com, is now official.

An updated UFC Fight Night 52 fight card can be seen below.

  • Mark Hunt vs. Roy Nelson
  • Takanori Gomi vs. Myles Jury
  • Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Amir Sadollah
  • Miesha Tate vs. Rin Nakai
  • Alex Caceres vs. Masanori Kanehara
  • Katsunori Kikuno vs. Sam Sicilia
  • Hyun Gyu Lim vs. Takenori Sato
  • Kiichi Kunimoto vs. Richard Walsh
  • Kyoji Horiguchi vs. Jon Delos Reyes
  • Kyung Ho Kang vs. Michinori Tanaka
  • Johnny Case vs. Kazuki Tokudome
  • Maximo Blanco vs. Daniel Hooker