The UFC got what they wanted in Anthony Pettis defending the lightweight title in Sacramento for UFC on Fox 9. The swerve in this announcement is that he’ll be fighting Josh Thomson instead of T.J. Grant

Josh Thomson replaces T.J. Grant to challenge Anthony Pettis for the lightweight title

With Grant medically unable to accept a planned title shot against Pettis, Thomson will step in to challenge for the belt. Grant revealed on his twitter account that he won’t be prepared to fight in December and has relinquished his title shot. Thomson was the next logical choice, if Pettis were to defend his belt against someone in the lightweight division.

Thomson is coming off a fantastic performance by being the first fighter ever to knockout Nate Diaz last April. Now he’s being rewarded with a title shot close to his hometown. It’ll be very interesting to see how Pettis transitions from being the home town hero to the villain come December. UFC on FOX 9 will take place December 14 at the Sleep Train Arena in Sacramento, California. A bantamweight co-feature pitting Urijah Faber vs. Michael McDonald is the only other confirmed fight for the card.

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