The news came rather abruptly on Thursday that former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar is suffering from another bout with diverticulitis, causing him to withdraw from his UFC 131 main event bout with Junior dos Santos.
Shane Carwin immediately accepted Lesnar’s slot, giving him the opportunity to return to title contention. But that left Carwin’s UFC 131 opponent, Jon Olav Einemo without a fight.
UFC matchmaker Joe Silva moved swiftly, however, pulling Joey Beltran from his fight on the card, and slotting him to face Einemo. Just as quickly, he signed Strikeforce veteran Aaron Rosa to face Dave Herman, Beltran’s original opponent in Vancouver.
Got that? Good.
Einemo, Herman, and Rosa are all making their Octagon debuts at UFC 131.
Einemo (7-1) is a six-foot-six Norweigan, known for his grappling prowess. Rosa (16-3) enters the UFC off impressive wins over Abe Wagner and Devin Cole. Herman (20-2) has long been one of the top heavyweight prospects and gets his opportunity to prove why in Vancouver.
To recap, the restructured heavyweight bouts at UFC 131 now look like this:
-Junior dos Santos vs. Shane Carwin
-Jon Olav Einemo vs. Joey Beltran
-Dave Herman vs. Aaron Rosa