Danny Castillo vs. Paul Felder set for UFC 182 in Las Vegas

Paul Felder

With Rustam Khabilov forced to withdraw from next month’s UFC 182 event, Danny Castillo (17-7 MMA, 7-4 UFC) now has a new opponent: Paul Felder.

MMAjunkie today confirmed with a source close to the fighters that Felder volunteered to take the open slot. The source spoke on the condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak publicly on such matters.

An official announcement of the change is expected shortly.

Featuring a light heavyweight grudge match between UFC champ Jon Jones and undefeated challenger Daniel Cormier, UFC 182 takes place Jan. 3 at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena. An official bout order has yet to be revealed, but the Castillo vs. Felder bout is expected to take place on the evening’s preliminary card

Castillo, a longtime member of California’s Team Alpha Male, looks to rebound from a disappointing split-decision loss to Tony Ferguson at August’s UFC 177 event. Prior to the defeat, “Last Call” had gone 3-1 in a four-fight span, with the one loss coming in a “Fight of the Night” decision result against Edson Barboza.

Meanwhile, “The Irish Dragon” Felder made his UFC debut in October, earning a split-decision win over Jason Saggo at UFC Fight Night 54. He was expected to return to action on Jan. 18 to face Johnny Case at UFC Fight Night 59 but elected to fight two weeks sooner in favor of a more high-profile booking.

With the change, the UFC 182 lineup now includes:

• Champ Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier – for UFC light heavyweight title
• Donald Cerrone vs. Myles Jury
• Josh Burkman vs. Hector Lombard
• Nate Marquardt vs. Brad Tavares
• Danny Castillo vs. Paul Felder
• Louis Gaudinot vs. Kyoji Horiguchi
• Jared Cannonier vs. Shawn Jordan
• Rodrigo Damm vs. Evan Dunham
• Omari Akhmedov vs. Mats Nilsson
• Marcus Brimage vs. Cody Garbrandt

For more on UFC 182 and UFC Fight Night 59, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.