Phil Davis replaces injured Stanislav Nedkov at UFC 117, Diego Sanchez vs. Paulo Thiago For UFC 121

Props to MMA Junkie

Team Lloyd Irvin product Phil Davis (6-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) has come to the rescue as a last minuet replacement and agreed to take on Rodney Wallace (9-2 MMA, 0-2 UFC) at UFC 117 on August 7th. The former Nittany Lion wrestled for a national title at State College, and is quickly finding a home in the UFC’s light heavyweight division. Holding victories over former WEC 205lb champ Brian Stann and Alexander Gustafsson, Mr. Wonderful will look to improve his UFC record to 3-0.

Also, news today coming from multiple sources that Deigo Sachez and Paulo Thiago have conditionally agreed for a bout at UFC 121 October 23 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. The event will be headlined by the heavyweight championship fight between champion Brock Lesnar and challenger Cain Velasquez.

Sanchez is off to a disappointing start in his move back to the welterweight division. The former number 1. lightweight challenger too a savage beating at the hands of BJ Penn at UFC 107 and made the questionable decision to head back up in weight. His first fight back at 170 was a humbling loss to British phenom John Hathaway, who capitalized on a great opportunity to raise his profile and get a win from the highly respected Sanchez.

Thiago is very much in the same boat. After having his way with a few of American Kickboxing Academy’s best fighters in Mike Swick and Josh Koscheck, he most recently suffered a loss at the highly underrated Martin Kampmann at UFC 115. The Dame was able to outpoint Thiago on way to a unanimous decision victory. Both Sanchez and Thiago will be looking for vengeance in this fight, and both desperately need to avoid to dreaded 0-2 straight inside the UFC.