It was announced today that Vladimir Matyushenko (26-6) has stepped in for an injured Roger Hollett (13-3), and will now face the returning Matt Hamill (10-4) in a light-heavyweight battle at UFC 152. The event will take place on Sept. 22 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Canada.
UFC officials announced the new matchup today on UFC.com.
UFC 152 features a headline bout between Joseph Benavidez and Demetrious Johnson who will square off for the flyweight title. The main card will air live on PPV with the prelims set to air on FX and Facebook.
Vladimir Matyushenko last fought at UFC 141 in December, where he was defeated by Alexander Gustafsson via first round TKO. That loss snapped a two fight winning streak Vladimir had built up, scoring back-to-back stoppage victories over Alexandre Ferreira and Jason Brilz. A good performance against Hamill will put Matyushenko back on track to start climbing the light-heavyweight ladder again.
Meanwhile, Matt Hamill makes his return to the UFC after retiring back in August 2011. The former NCAA wrestling champion lost his last two fights against Quinton Jackson and Alexander Gustafsson during 2011. However, prior to that he had been on a five fight winning streak, defeating notable fighters Reese Andy, Mark Munoz, Jon Jones (via DQ), Keith Jardine, and Tito Ortiz. Hamill will no doubt look to return with a big win over “The Janitor”.
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