Yoel Romero has a new opponent on the UFC 164 fight card.
According to MMAJunkie.com, Romero’s originally scheduled opponent, Derek Brunson, has been injured. Replacing the Strikeforce veteran will be UFC newcomer Brian Houston.
This is the second time in a row Brunson has had a fight scrapped. In June, Brunson‘s anticipated UFC on Fuel TV 10 opponent Ronny Markes was injured in a car accident, causing the matchup to be cancelled. Brunson has not competed since winning in his December UFC debut against Chris Leben.
Houston is unproven with a 4-0 record. However, the Nebraskan has picked up three straight knockout wins in the first round.
Romero will be a tough test for the 26-year-old prospect. An American Top Team product, Romero has only lost to former Strikeforce champion Rafael Cavalcante in six career bouts. Most recently, Romero picked up his first UFC win with a flying knee against Clifford Starks.
If Houston can steal Romero’s momentum with what would likely be considered a major upset win at UFC 164, Houston could become one of the hottest prospects in the middleweight class.
Scheduled to be held on Aug. 31, UFC 164 will be hosted by Milwaukee’s BMO Harris Bradley Center. With Houston replacing Brunson, the event’s fight card now looks like this:
Main Card
- Benson Henderson vs. Anthony Pettis
- Frank Mir vs. Josh Barnett
- Chad Mendes vs. Clay Guida
- Ben Rothwell vs. Brandon Vera
- Erik Koch vs. Dustin Poirier
Fox Sports 1 Prelims
- Jamie Varner vs. Gleison Tibau
- Louis Gaudinot vs. Tim Elliott
- Pascal Krauss vs. Hyun Gyu Lim
- Chico Camus vs. Kyung Ho Kang
- Yoel Romero vs. Brian Houston
Facebook Prelims
- Soa Palelei vs. Nikita Krylov
- Ryan Couture vs. Al Iaquinta
- Jared Hamman vs. Magnus Cedenblad
Sean Smith is a Featured MMA Columnist for Bleacher Report who has also had work promoted on UFC.com and TheMMACorner.com. Follow on Twitter @SeanSmithMMA.
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