Roland Delorme Replaces Injured Johnny Bedford, Meets Nick Denis at UFC on Fox 3

Just one day after Timothy Elliott was tapped to replace Darren Uyenoyama against John Dodson, promotion officials Wednesday announced that Johnny Bedford has been forced to withdraw from his scheduled bantamweight confrontation with Nick Denis. Stepping in for Bedford at the May 5 event will be another “Ultimate Fighter” Season 14 alumnus, Roland Delorme.

Headlined by a five-round lightweight contest between Jim Miller and Nate Diaz, UFC on Fox 3 takes place at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, N.J. Also featuring a pivotal welterweight attraction pitting Josh Koscheck against Johny Hendricks, the event marks the promotion’s second event on Fox’s flagship network in 2012.

Delorme, 28, has fallen just once in over three years as a professional. Joining the cast of “TUF 14” last year, Delorme was submitted by eventual finalist T.J. Dillashaw in the quarterfinal round of the competition. The Canadian rebounded from the exhibition loss, however, earning a submission victory of his own in his official UFC debut against cast mate Josh Ferguson at the live season finale on Dec. 3.

Denis (Pictured) has won four of his last five bouts, scoring devastating knockouts in his last two outings. The Sengoku veteran fought just once last year, finishing Nick Mamalis with a highlight-reel slam that relieved the Bellator veteran of his consciousness this past October. Most recently, “The Ninja of Love” made a statement in his UFC debut, knocking out Joseph Sandoval on Jan. 20 in just 22 seconds with a series of standing elbows.