Injures have hit UFC 166, but the promotion found an easy way to solve the problem.
Estevan Payan, who was set to fight Charles Oliveira in the featherweight division, suffered an injury and was forced to pull out of the card. Jeremy Larsen, who saw himself without an opponent following Matt Grice’s car accident, stepped up as Oliveira’s new opponent.
UFC 166, which is headlined by the title fight between heavyweights Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos, takes place at Toyota Center in Houston, Texas on Oct. 19.
Oliveira, a 23-year-old Brazilian, enters the cage following back-to-back losses to Frankie Edgar and Cub Swanson, after going 2-0 at the 145-pound division. Prior to that, the jiu-jitsu black belt went 2-2 in five fights in the lightweight division, with one no-contest.
Larsen, a TUF 15 alum, sees himself in a similar position inside the promotion. At 0-2 inside the Octagon, with a pair of TKO losses to Lucas Martins and Joe Proctor at the lightweight division, he desperately needs a win to save his job as a UFC fighter.
Check below the complete card of UFC 166:
Main card:
Cain Velasquez vs. Junior dos Santos
Daniel Cormier vs. Roy Nelson
Gilbert Melendez vs. Diego Sanchez
Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Shawn Jordan
John Dodson vs. Darrell Montague
Preliminary card:
Luke Rockhold vs. Tim Boetsch
Hector Lombard vs. Nate Marquardt
Jessica Eye vs. Sarah Kaufman
George Sotiropoulos vs. K.J. Noons
T.J. Waldburger vs. Adlan Amagov
Tony Ferguson vs. Mike Rio
Jeremy Larsen vs. Charles Oliveira