UFC veteran and former IFL champion Matt Horwich (23-15-1) has replaced Falaniko Vitale (27-9) and meets Thales Leites (17-3) at Powerhouse World Promotions' "War on the Mainland" pay-per-view event.
The Aug. 14 fight determines the first-ever PWP middleweight champ.
Other notables on the card include Tim Sylvia, Paul Buentello, Jens Pulver, Jason Lambert, Gustavo Machdado, Terry Martin and others.
The show takes place at the Bren Events Center in Irvine, Calif. The widely available PPV broadcast costs $29.95.
Leites, a former top UFC middleweight contender, is 3-0 since his UFC release with wins over Dean Lister, Ricco Washington and Jesse Taylor. Although once of the UFC's top middleweights, the organization terminated his contract in 2009 following a lackluster loss to champ Anderson Silva and a split-decision defeat to Alessio Sakara.
Horwich – who owns wins over the likes of Jason MacDonald, Krzysztof Soszynski, Mike Pyle, Brian Foster and Benji Radach – has struggled in recent action. He's 1-5 since his first UFC fight in 2008 and was released after losses to Dan Miller and Ricardo Almeida. The slide has continued in outside promotions, though a victory over Leites could get his career back on track.
"We're excited to add Matt Horwich to our already stacked card," PWP CEO Brian Manna stated. "They are two of the best BJJ fighters in the world. Either one will make a great PWP Middleweight Champion."
The latest "War on the Mainland" on the card now includes:
* Paul Buentello vs. Tim Sylvia (for first-ever PWP heavyweight title)
* Allan Goes vs. Jason Lambert (for first-ever PWP light-heavyweight title)
* Matt Horwich vs. Thales Leites (for first-ever PWP middleweight title)
* Diego Garijo vs. Jens Pulver
* Gustavo Machado vs. Rick Reeves
* Terry Martin vs. Jorge Ortiz
* Erin Beach vs. Joao Silva
* Cleber Luciano vs. Todd Willingham
* Evan Aitkins vs. Chad McCausland
* Sean Choice vs. A.J. Mathews
Source: http://mmajunkie.com/news/20145/matt-ho ... inland.mma