Clint Hester out at UFC 163, Cezar Ferreira now meets Thiago Santos

Next month’s UFC 163 event has undergone yet another change, as Thiago “Marreta” Santos (8-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) has stepped in to replace an injured Clint Hester (8-3 MMA, 1-0 UFC) and now meets Cezar “Mutante” Ferreira (5-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) on the evening’s main card.

UFC officials recently announced the change to the lineup. Additionally, two bouts previously reported are now also official, with flyweights John Lineker vs. Jose Maria Tome and light heavyweights Francimar Barroso vs. Ednaldo Oliveira now set for the card.

Featuring a featherweight title fight between current champ Jose Aldo and fan-favorite contender Chan Sung Jung, UFC 163 takes place Aug. 3 at Rio de Janeiro’s HSBC Arena. The evening’s main card airs on pay-per-view, while prelims air on FX and stream on Facebook.

Ferriera claimed the “TUF: Brazil” tournament title with a convincing win over Sergio Moraes at this past June’s UFC 147 event. He was expected to return to action at May’s UFC on FX 8 event but was forced to withdraw due to injury. He’ll now face a 14-month layoff between fights.

Santos makes his first official UFC appearance after falling short in the quarterfinal round of “The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 2,” earlier this year. As a member of Team Werdum, Santos competed as a welterweight and lost by decision to eventual winner Leonardo Santos. He now moves up to middleweight for this opportunity.

With the changes to the card, UFC 163 now includes:

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)

• Champ Jose Aldo vs. Chan Sung Jung – for featherweight title
• Phil Davis vs. Lyoto Machida
• Cezar Ferreira vs. Thiago Santos
• Thales Leites vs. Tom Watson
• John Lineker vs. Jose Maria Tome

PRELIMINARY CARD (FX, 8 p.m. ET)

• Vinny Magalhaes vs. Anthony Perosh
• Sheila Gaff vs. Amanda Nunes
• Neil Magny vs. Sergio Moraes
• Ian McCall vs. Iliarde Santos

PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook, 6:30 p.m. ET)

• Josh Clopton vs. Rani Yahya
• Francimar Barroso vs. Ednaldo Oliveira
• Viscardi Andrade vs. Bristol Marunde

For more on UFC 163, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: Cezar Ferreira)