After Brian Stann was forced to pull out of the UFC on Fox 4 fight card with a shoulder injury, his scheduled opponent, Hector Lombard, didn't have to wait long for a new opponent.
Lombard, the former Bellator Middleweight Champion currently riding a 25-fight unbeaten streak, will instead make his UFC debut at UFC 149 next month, taking on Tim Boetsch. Boetsch was originally supposed to face Michael Bisping in Calgary, but "The Count" was forced to withdraw with an undisclosed injury, opening the door for Lombard to step in.
The loss of Bisping - one of the UFC's most beloved fighters in the U.K. and one of its most hated fighters just about everywhere else - is a tough hit for the UFC 149 fight card, but with a UFC Featherweight Title bout headlining the card and the return of the ever popular Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira in the co-main event, there's probably enough star power to entice fans even without Bisping.
Also, in reality, the debut of Lombard is better suited to an undercard bout on a pay-per-view than it was to the main event of a Fox broadcast. The drop in ratings for UFC on Fox 3, which was headlined by lightweights Jim Miller and Nate Diaz, indicates that a certain amount of star power is important for bringing in fans, and as a fighter who's been toiling outside the UFC spotlight for his entire career, Lombard doesn't really have that. Even Jake Shields, who was second only to Fedor Emelianenko in name recognition among non-UFC fighters, fought on a pay-per-view card headlined by Brock Lesnar and Cain Velasquez when he made his UFC debut.
While the recent injuries to Stann, Bisping and Thiago Silva are unfortunate, the changes in UFC booking that have taken place this week have made UFC on Fox 4 a much stronger card, while maintaining UFC 149's status as a solid attraction for MMA fans.
