by MMAjunkie.com Staff on Jun 16, 2012 at 6:00 pm ET
With his broken arm still not fully healed, former UFC interim champ Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (33-7-1 MMA, 4-3 UFC) has pulled out of next month's UFC 149 event.
In his place steps Shawn Jordan (13-3 MMA, 1-0 UFC), who now fights fellow heavyweight Cheick Kongo (17-7-2 MMA, 10-5-1 UFC).
Sherdog first reported the scratch and Jordan's acceptance of the fight earlier today.
MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) confirmed Nogueira's withdrawal.
UFC 149 takes place July 21 at Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The main card airs on pay-per-view, and FX and Facebook are expected to carry the prelims.
Jordan vs. Kongo is slated for the main card.
Nogueira was slated to fight for the first time since breaking his arm in a submission loss to Frank Mir at UFC 140. He underwent surgery soon after the December loss.
Jordan, a recent Strikeforce import, made his UFC debut and scored a TKO victory over Oli Thompson at UFC on FX 2 back in March. It marked the former LSU football player and current Team Jackson-Winkeljohn member's fourth win in his past five fights.
Kongo, meanwhile, looks to rebound from a disappointing loss to Mark Hunt at February's UFC 144 event. The surprising defeat snapped a four-fight unbeaten streak for Kongo (which included wins over Paul Buentello, Pat Barry and Matt Mitrione, as well as a draw with Travis Browne). The Hunt loss was the Frenchman's first defeat since a December 2009 loss to Mir.
The latest UFC 149 card includes:
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view)
- Urijah Faber vs. Renan Barao (for interim bantamweight title)
- Tim Boetsch vs. Hector Lombard
- Shawn Jordan vs. Cheick Kongo*
- Siyar Bahadurzada vs. Chris Clements
PRELIMINARY CARD (FX)
- Roland Delorme vs. TBA
- Mitch Clarke vs. Anton Kuivanen
- Court McGee vs. Nick Ring
- Bryan Caraway vs. Mitch Gagnon
- Antonio Carvalho vs. George Roop
- Ryan Jimmo vs. Anthony Perosh
- James Head vs. Claude Patrick
* - Not officially announced
For more on
UFC 149, stay tuned to the
UFC Rumors section of the site.
(Pictured: Shawn Jordan)