Cole Miller Injured; Conor McGregor to Face Diego Brandao at UFC Fight Night Dublin

Conor McGregor has a new opponent for his homecoming. | Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com

Promotion officials Tuesday announced that “The Ultimate Fighter 14” featherweight winner Diego Brandao will take Miller’s place in the July 19 bout. UFC Fight Night “McGregor vs. Brandao” takes place at the O2 in Dublin and also features a flyweight pairing pitting Brad Pickett against Ian McCall.

Brandao recently had his own injury issues, as an undisclosed ailment forced him to pull out of a proposed matchup with Brian Ortega at the “TUF: Brazil 3” finale this past weekend. Brandao last fought in December, when he suffered a first-round knockout loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 168.

McGregor, meanwhile, has established himself as one of the promotion’s most outspoken talents. The former Cage Warriors Fighting Championship titlist is 2-0 in the Octagon, stopping Marcus Brimage in his promotional debut before outpointing Max Holloway at UFC Fight Night “Shogun vs. Sonnen” last August.

“Notorious” has high expectations for fighting in his home country.

“It’s going to be a phenomenal experience,” McGregor said during a Tuesday conference call. “I’m not sure how many people the O2 Arena holds, but I’m sure it’s going to sound like 10 times that amount are in there. I believe the roof is going to blow off the place. From the start of the show until the finish, it’s going to be something special.”