Injuries have claimed another victim on the UFC 133 card, as Vladimir “The Janitor” Matyushenko has been forced out of his light heavyweight bout with Alexander “The Mauler” Gustafsson due to an undisclosed injury. Matt “The Hammer” Hamill has stepped in to face Gustafsson on the August 6th card.
The UFC announced the latest change to the embattled event today. Hamill most recently dropped an uninspiring decision to former champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, but had won five straight before the loss. Gustafsson has won two fights in a row since suffering his lone career defeat last April.
Hamill (10-3-0) had looked to position himself for a run at the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship in May, but instead dropped a lopsided Unanimous Decision to Jackson after failing to succeed with even one takedown attempt. The loss was a setback for Hamill, who had put together a solid winning streak that included a contentious disqualification victory over current champion Jon “Bones” Jones. He will have a chance to get back on the winning track when he steps in to face Gustafsson on short notice.
Gustafsson (11-1-0) has been to a decision just once in his 12-fight career and has demonstrated a competent ground game in addition to his striking talents on the feet. Gustafsson has tasted defeat only one time, in a bout with unbeaten contender Phil “Mr. Wonderful” Davis at UFC 112, and has bounced back with a pair of rear-naked choke submission wins. The native of Sweden has knocked out seven of his opponents to date and should hold a decided advantage in the striking department over Hamill.
UFC 133 takes place on August 6th at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
UFC 133 Fight Card (to date; subject to change):
– “Suga” Rashad Evans vs “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” Tito Ortiz
– Rich “Ace” Franklin vs Antonio Rogerio “Minotoro” Nogueira
– Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort vs Yoshihiro Akiyama
– Jorge “El Conquistador” Rivera vs Alessio “Legionarius” Sakara
– Rory “The Waterboy” MacDonald vs Mike “Quicksand” Pyle
– Alexander “The Mauler” Gustafsson vs Matt “The Hammer” Hamill
– Chad “Money” Mendes vs Rani Yahya
– Brian “Bad Boy” Ebersole vs Dennis “Superman” Hallman
– “The Pride of El Salvador” Ivan Menjivar vs Nick Pace
– Johnny Hendricks vs Mike Pierce
– Mike Brown vs Nam Phan
– Rafael “Sapo” Natal vs Constantinos Philippou
(Photo Credit: Sherdog.com)