Former WEC featherweight champion Mike Brown has stepped in as a replacement against Rani Yahya at UFC Fight Night 23, which is set to serve as the promotions second “Fight For The Troops” event.
Brown, who has agreed to replace “The Korean Zombie”, Chan Sung Jung, returned to the Ultimate Fighting Championship at UFC 125, but dropped a narrow split decision to Diego Nunes on the preliminary card. The loss was Brown’s third in five fights, with the other two coming against Manny Gamburyan and current 145 lb. champion Jose Aldo.
While Brown has the opportunity to turn things around less than one month since his loss, Yahya has the opportunity to do the same, and he will likely have to if he wishes to remain with the promotion. In his last two contests, Yahya was blasted by Joseph Benavidez and decisioned by Takeya Mizugaki at WEC 45 and WEC 48, respectively. The losses come immediately after he managed to string together three straight wins between November of 2008 and August of 2009.
“UFC Fight Night 23: Fight For The Troops II” is set for Fort Hood, Texas on January 22 and will be broadcast live on Spike TV. A lightweight tilt between Evan Dunham and Melvin Guillard will serve as the main event of the five-fight main card.
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