Earlier today it was announced that the UFC on FOX 4 main event between Brian Stann and Hector Lombard had fallen into shambles. The news came when Stann had to withdraw from the fight due to an injury and this left Lombard without an opponent.
On Wednesday evening the UFC announced that Lombard would no longer be in the main event and it would now be a light heavyweight dual between Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Brandon Vera.
The new main event on August 4 will be a five-round light heavyweight battle between two of the best Muay Thai strikers in the game, Brandon Vera and former champion Shogun Rua. Rua is riding the momentum of the fight of the century against Dan Henderson, while Vera is back in the win column and looking to make a statement after being sidelined earlier this year due to injury himself.
Rua is being plucked from the UFC 149 card in Calgary, where he was set to face Thiago Silva until Silva suffered an injury. Vera, meanwhile, was training for a bout with James Te Huna at the July FUEL TV event. A new opponent for Te Huna is expected to be named shortly.
Prior to this announcement, Rua was offered a fight with Glover Teixeira by UFC President Dana White, however Shogun supposedly turned that fight down.
Vera was cut from the UFC following a loss at the hands of Thiago Silva, however following that fight Silva failed a drug test and the fight was ruled a no-contest. The organization then brought Vera back; he then went on to beat Eliot Marshall in a controversial decision at UFC 137.
The new bout between Rua and Vera will serve as a five round main event at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
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