Dustin Poirier (13-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) has replaced Dennis Siver (21-8 MMA, 10-5 UFC) and will now meet fellow featherweight contender Cub Swanson (18-5 MMA, 3-1 UFC) in the co-headliner of next month’s UFC on FUEL TV 7 event at Wembley Arena in London.

Siver was forced to pull out of the February 16th contest due to an inner meniscal tear in his knee. No timetable was released regarding his return.

The originally scheduled bout between Swanson and Siver was expected to serve as a #1 contenders match, it is not certain if the new bout will hold the same weight. That said, combined Swanson and Poirier have won 10 of their past 12 fights and this bout will surely play a significant role in regards to the featherweight ranks.

Poirier got back in to the win column last month at the “TUF 16 finale”, where he submitted Jonathon Brookins in the opening round. Poirier has won 6 of his last 7 overall, with his lone loss coming at the hands of “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung back in May 2012.

Cub Swanson has been on fire since joining the UFC. He has won three straight fights, with all three victories coming by way of KO/TKO. Cub went 3-0 in 2012, earning victories over George Roop, Ross Pearson and Charles Oliveira.

UFC on FUEL TV 7 card now includes the following bouts:

MAIN CARD (3 p.m. ET)

• Renan Barao vs. Michael McDonald – Interim bantamweight title fight
• Dustin Poirier vs. Cub Swanson
• Cyrille Diabate vs. Jimi Manuwa
• Justin Edwards vs. Gunnar Nelson
• Ryan Jimmo vs. James Te Huna
• Che Mills vs. Matthew Riddle

PRELIMINARY CARD (noon ET)

• Terry Etim vs. Renee Forte
• Danny Castillo vs. Paul Sass
• Josh Grispi vs. Andy Ogle
• Stanislav Nedkov vs. Tom Watson
• Vaughan Lee vs. Motonobu Tezuka
• Ulysses Gomez vs. Phil Harris

comments