With a back injury sidelining former UFC welterweight contender Josh Koscheck (17-6), the UFC has re-signed Jay ‘The Thoroughbred’ Hieron (23-5) to step in his replacement for this September’s UFC 151 event.
On Wednesday, MMAjunkie.com announced the news, naming Hieron as Jake ‘The Juggernaught’ Ellenberger’s (27-6) opponent for the Vegas show.
UFC 151: Jones vs. Henderson is expected to take place on September 1, 2012 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Hieron has not seen the inside of the Octagon since October 2005 where he lost to Jonathan Goulet at UFN 2. Since that time, ‘The Thoroughbred’ has competed under the IFL, Affliction, Strikeforce and Bellator banners. He won the inaugural IFL welterweight title in 2007 and fought for the Bellator strap in October of last year losing a split decision to Ben Askren. Hieron’s last fight took place in July at a Legacy Fighting Championship event, where he won by technical submission over Romario da Silva.
Ellenberger also suffered a defeat in his last fight, suffering a second round knockout at the hands of Martin Kampmann at the TUF 15 Finale this past June. That fight ended a six fight win streak for ‘The Juggernaught” who won a decision over Diego Sanchez last February for his last victory.