The UFC 146 heavyweight bout between Stefan Struve and Mark Hunt — which had been the only main card fight untouched by the shakeups caused by Alistair Overeem‘s withdrawal from the event — has now gone the way of the others with Mark Hunt suffering an injury just nine days out. Stepping in to his spot to fight “The Skyscraper” is Lavar “Big” Johnson, who’s coming off of two knockout of the night performances in 2012.
“I heard last night there was a chance I could get this fight and I accepted right away,” said Johnson. “You don’t get chances like this too much in life, so when you are lucky, you make the most of it. I took one week off after last fight [May 5] and then went back to the gym.”
““He’s looked impressive in his first two fights in the Octagon, but I’m gonna look even more impressive next week,” said Struve. “I want to thank him for stepping up on such short notice, but he’s gonna face the best Stefan Struve you’ve seen so far.”
Gonzaga, Dunham Injuries Force UFC 146 Card Changes updated May 1
The injury bug has bitten again, and this time its target was UFC 146, which underwent two more changes today.
After much reshuffling on the all-heavyweight main card, Roy “Big Country” Nelson now has his third opponent since the event was announced. Gabriel Gonzaga is out with an injury, just 8 days after being slotted to fight Nelson after Nelson’s original opponent, Bigfoot Silva, was plucked for another bout. Hirsute heavyweight Dave Herman will now fill in against the TUF 10 winner.
On the undercard, lightweight contender Evan Dunham has also been injured, forcing him to withdraw from his much-anticipated bout against Edson Barboza. The change opens the door for the Zuffa return of former WEC champion Jamie Varner. Varner has racked up three impressive wins in the last year, all finishes in under two minutes.
Verbal agreements are in for both replacement bouts.
Big Country and Napao to Meet at UFC 146 updated April 23
Roy “Big Country” Nelson has an opponent for May 26th’s UFC 146 event, as the resurgent Gabriel “Napao” Gonzaga will step up to face the former Ultimate Fighter winner in Las Vegas. Now it’s Gonzaga’s original foe, Shane del Rosario, who will wait and see who he will be battling at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
update: The11-0 Shane del Rosario will now meet fellow undefeated heavyweight Stipe Miocic (8-0) at UFC 146. Miocic decisioned Joey Beltran in his UFC 136 promotional debut and earned Knockout of the Night for quickly dispatching Phil de Fries in February at UFC on FUEL TV.
This addition to the main card again completes the all-heavyweight roster. Junior dos Santos now fights Frank Mir for the heavyweight title in the main event; former champion Cain Velasquez meets Bigfoot Silva; Nelson takes on Gonzaga; and Mark Hunt vs. Stefan Struve — the only match-up to stay as-is from the event’s initial announcement — opens the evening.
Cain Gets Bigfoot at UFC 146
The all-heavyweight fight card continues to re-shuffle, as UFC president Dana White announced today via Twitter that former heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez will now battle former Strikeforce star Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva on the May 26 card.
Velasquez was left without an opponent Friday when original foe Frank Mir was tapped to fill in for Alistair Overeem in the main event, a title fight against Junior dos Santos. Silva had been slated to battle Roy Nelson; his new opponent is expected to be named shortly.
At the UFC 145 post-fight press conference, White said he was open to booking Travis Browne or Ben Rothwell on the card; both heavyweights emerged relatively unscathed after first-round finishes last night in Atlanta.
Dos Santos vs. Mir New May 26 Headliner updated April 20
Following Friday’s Ultimate Fighter Live in Las Vegas, UFC President Dana White took to Twitter to announce a change in the UFC 146 main event on May 26th.
“Taking off to Atlanta!!!!” wrote White, referring to tonight’s UFC 145: Jones vs. Evans event in Georgia. “May 26th is now Mir vs JDS for the HW title in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand.”
The insertion of two-time heavyweight boss Frank Mir into the title fight against current champion Junior dos Santos comes after previous challenger Alistair Overeem’s status for the MGM Grand Garden Arena fight was placed in limbo pending a licensure hearing in front of the Nevada State Athletic Commission on April 24th, where a pre-fight drug test will be discussed.
Stay tuned for more updates to the UFC 146 lineup, as Mir’s original opponent for the event, former champ Cain Velasquez, will remain on the card against a foe to be determined.
UFC 146 Main Card to Be All Heavyweights updated March 14
The UFC 146 fight card is shaping up to be the biggest ever – literally – as the UFC announced today that for the first time ever, all five bouts on the main card will feature heavyweight fights.
The latest addition to that roster comes as verbal agreements are in for a matchup between the UFC’s tallest fighter and one of its hardest hitters: Stefan “Skyscraper” Struve takes on Mark “Super Samoan” Hunt.
The event is headlined by a title fight between Junior dos Santos and Alistair Overeem, with a contender’s bout in the comain event between former champions Cain Velasquez and Frank Mir. Also on the main card are heavyweights Roy Nelson vs. Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva and Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Shane Del Rosario.
At the other end of the weight division spectrum, another former champion will return to action as WEC featherweight kingpin, Mike Brown, will be taking on Daniel Pineda.
“Pineda is developing as a serious contender as he will be looking for his third stoppage in the Octagon in only 5 months and riding an almost 2 year unbeaten streak,” said UFC president Dana White. “This will be toughest test of his career, dealing with Brown’s experience, power and submission prowess.”
Two Heavyweight Bouts Added to Dos Santos vs. Reem Card updated March 6
Besides the heavyweight headliner of Junior dos Santos vs. Alistair Overeem, two more battles between big guys will go down at UFC 146.
Verbal agreements are in for a number-one contender match between former UFC heavyweight champions Frank Mir and Cain Velasquez, confirmed UFC president Dana White today.
Plus, former Strikeforce heavyweight star Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva has verbally agreed to make his UFC debut against Roy “Big Country” Nelson. Silva logged wins over Andrei Arlovski, Mike Kyle and Fedor Emelianenko in Strikeforce and Nelson has wins over Brendan Schaub, Stefan Struve and Mirko Cro Cop and got Fight of the Night in his last fight against Fabricio Werdum.
Dos Santos-Overeem Set for MGM Grand May 26 updated March 6
The biggest heavyweight fight of 2012 will land at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday, May 26th, as UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos defends his title for the first time in the main event of UFC 146 against former Strikeforce and K-1 champion Alistair Overeem. Ticket information will be announced soon.
Five Bouts Added to Stacked UFC 146 Card updated February 22
May 26th’s UFC 146 card in Las Vegas is starting to take shape with a five more stellar bouts designed to kick off the Summer of 2012 in style.
In a matchup of welterweight strikers, Dan “The Outlaw” Hardy returns to battle veteran Duane “Bang” Ludwig, and the fists are likely to be flying as well in heavyweight action, as former Strikeforce big man Shane Del Rosario puts his unbeaten record on the line against former world title challenger Gabriel Gonzaga.
Plus, Ultimate Fighter season 14 winner Diego Brandao makes his first start since winning the show, as he takes on Darren Elkins in a featherweight matchup; Jacob “Christmas” Volkmann puts his five fight winning streak up for grabs against British submission specialist Paul Sass in lightweight action; and longtime standout Glover Teixeira makes his highly-anticipated UFC debut in a light heavyweight bout against Kyle Kingsbury.
All bouts have been verbally agreed to.
UFC 146: Summer Kicks Off with Mayhem and Doberman in Vegas – updated 2/22
UFC president Dana White today confirmed the first fight – one between fan favorites – officially set for UFC 146, set to take place over Memorial Day weekend.
“Ultimate Fighter runner-up C.B. ‘The Doberman’ Dollaway has verbally agreed to face recent Ultimate Fighter coach Jason ‘Mayhem’ Miller in a middleweight bout at UFC 146 this May in Las Vegas,” he said.