It looks like the UFC finally ran out of options.
After a hectic pace of shuffling in light heavyweights to key UFC 133 matchups, UFC matchmaker Joe Silva was finally forced to admit defeat.
UFC officials today announced that Antonio Rogerio Nogueira's withdrawal from the Aug. 6 event has forced the cancellation of a planned co-feature contest with Rich Franklin.
MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) reported Nogueira's withdrawal late Saturday night.
A shoulder injury suffered in training was reportedly the culprit. A timetable for Nogueira's return is not immediately evident.
Featuring a recently announced main-event rematch between former light-heavyweight champions Rashad Evans and Tito Ortiz, UFC 133 takes place Aug. 6 at Philadelphia's Wells Fargo Center. The night's main card airs on pay-per-view, and Franklin vs. Nogueira was slated as the broadcast's co-headliner.
With the change, Vitor Belfort vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama has been promoted to co-main event status, and a preliminary card matchup between Brian Ebersole and Dennis Hallman has been bumped up to the evening's main card.
With the change, the UFC 133 lineup now includes:
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view)
Rashad Evans vs. Tito Ortiz
Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Vitor Belfort
Jorge Rivera vs. Alessio Sakara
Rory MacDonald vs. Mike Pyle
Brian Ebersole vs. Dennis Hallman
PRELIMINARY CARD (Spike TV)
Alexander Gustafsson vs. Matt Hamill
Chad Mendes vs. Rani Yahya
PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook)
Ivan Menjivar vs. Nick Pace
Johny Hendricks vs. Mike Pierce
Mike Brown vs. Nam Phan
Rafael "Sapo" Natal vs. Costantinos Phillippou
Source: With Nogueira out, Franklin also scratched from August's UFC 133 event
