Luke Rockhold has been forced out of his UFC 166 matchup with Tim Boetsch. Replacing the former Strikeforce champion will be CB Dollaway.
The switch was reported during Wednesday’s episode of UFC Tonight on Fox Sports 1.
In May, Rockhold made his UFC debut against the surging Vitor Belfort and suffered a knockout loss. Though still in search of his first UFC win, Rockhold remains the No. 8 contender in the middleweight division.
A bout with No. 10-ranked Boetsch would have given Rockhold a chance to bounce right back into the race for the 185-pound championship. However, the American Kickboxing Academy fighter will now have to sit out and recover from his knee injury.
Former light heavyweight, Boetsch became a contender in the middleweight class by winning his first four fights at 185 pounds. However, “The Barbarian” has since been slumping, losing to Costa Philippou and Mark Munoz in his past two outings.
While a matchup with Rockhold would have given Boetsch an opportunity to move upward in the middleweight division, a bout with Dollaway could be seen as a much-needed step down in competition for a fighter in danger of losing three in a row.
As Boetsch has been slipping, Dollaway is coming off of back-to-back wins. Decision wins over Jason Miller and Daniel Sarafian haven’t put Dollaway very near title contention, but beating Boetsch on short notice could put the TUF 7 runner-up within striking distance of the top 10.
UFC 166 will be held at the Toyota Center in Houston on Oct. 19. With Boetsch‘s change in opponents, here is how the fight card now looks:
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
UFC 166 Fox Sports 1 Prelims
- Tim Boetsch vs. CB Dollaway
- Hector Lombard vs. Nate Marquardt
- Jessica Eye vs. Sarah Kaufman
- KJ Noons vs. George Sotiropoulos
UFC 166 Online Prelims
- Adlan Amagov vs. TJ Waldburger
- Tony Ferguson vs. Mike Rio
- Jeremy Larsen vs. Charles Oliveira
- Kyogi Horiguchi vs. Dustin Pague
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