Former light heavyweight Luiz Cane has been removed from his UFC 150 bout opposite Yushin Okami due to injury, UFC officials announced on Monday.
His countryman, decorated Brazilian grappler Rousimar Palhares, has been tapped as a replacement for the middleweight clash.
Palhares (14-4), widely recognized at one of MMA’s foremost leglock specialists, hopes to rebound from an electrifying first-round TKO loss to Alan Belcher at UFC on FOX 3. Prior to the setback, “Toquinho” rolled to wins in six of his last seven UFC contests, snatching four victories via his trademark submissions.
Okami (26-7), meanwhile, looks to right his ship after having a three-fight win streak snapped by two straight TKO losses to UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva and rising contender Tim Boetsch, the latter of which was one of the more stunning comebacks in recent UFC history.
Additionally, UFC officials announced the next move of recent TUF standout Justin Lawrence (4-0). The undefeated 22-year-old has agreed to drop to featherweight and fight fellow up-and-comer Max Holloway (5-1) at UFC 150.
Lawrence impressively knocked out John Cofer earlier this month in his UFC debut, while Holloway handedly defeated Pat Schilling on the very same card.
UFC 150 is slated for August 11, 2012, at the Pepsi Center in Denver, CO, and headlined by a lightweight championship rematch pitting Ben Henderson against Frankie Edgar.