Cypriot born fighter Constantinos Philippou (7-2, 1NC) has been tapped to replace an injured Riki Fukuda on the UFC 133 card in August. Philippou meets Brazilian middleweight Rafael ‘Sapo’ Natal (12-3-1) and steps in with a month-and-a-half to go before the scheduled bout.
NBCSports.com posted the update on Monday morning after learning of the news from a source close to the event.
UFC 133: Evans vs. Davis is scheduled to take place on Aug. 6 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The event already has it’s main card set, so this bout between Natal vs. Philippou should take place on the preliminary card.
Fukuda pulled out of the bout after suffering a knee injury after a card accident last Thursday. The Japanese fighter noted that he would require surgery to repair his left knee and did not provide a date for his expected return.
Fans may recognize Philippou as one of those fighters eliminated in the entry round of season eleven of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series. He currently trains out of Serra-Longo on Long Island and debuted with the UFC last March in a 195 lb catchweight bout against Nick Catone at UFC 128. Philippou would lose by unanimous decision, ending an eight fight undefeated streak having put together a record of 7-0-1 in that time.
Natal hasn’t had much luck in 2011 with UFC bouts, having pulled out of a fight with Alessio Sakara at UFC on Versus 3 due to injury, and now having lost Fukuda as an opponent. ‘Sapo’ is 2-1-1 in his last four fights having fought Jesse Bongfeldt to a majority draw last December at UFC 124. He debuted with the UFC in September, losing a unanimous decision to Rich Attonito at UFC Fight Night 22. Seven of his twelve career wins have come via submission who currently trains out of the Team Renzo Gracie BJJ gym.