Iliarde Santos in for Marcos Vinicius, meets Yuri Alcantara at UFC on FX 8

Promotional newcomer Iliarde Santos (27-6-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will fill in for an injured Marcos Vinicius (20-4-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) against Yuri Alcantara (27-4 MMA, 2-1 UFC) next month in Brazil.

The two Brazilians will meet in a bantamweight bout on the preliminary card of UFC on FX 8. UFC officials late Monday announced the change. Vinicius was reported out this past week, but the UFC had not named his replacement until Monday.

UFC on FX 8 takes place May 18 at Arena Jaragua in Jaragua do Sul, Brazil. The event’s main card airs on FX following prelims on FUEL TV and Facebook.

The 32-year-old Santos went an impressive 6-0 in 2012, all in his native Brazil. Two-thirds of his wins have come by stoppage, and he has been stopped just twice in his six losses. In his current six-fight run, he has four first-round finishes.

Alcantara in January appeared to have a win over Pedro Nobre in hand. But referee Dan Miragliotta said his punches were illegal. Nobre was unable to continue, and the fight ended as a no contest. Alcantara started his UFC career with two straight wins, which came on the heels of a knockout win over current featherweight contender Ricardo Lamas in the WEC’s finale. But this past June, he lost a decision to Hacran Dias, which has kept him without a win for more than a year.

Vinicius, a cast member on the first season of “The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil,” won his official UFC debut with a “Knockout of the Night” win over fellow cast member Wagner Campos. But at the TUF 16 Finale in December, he dropped to bantamweight and was knocked out by Johnny Bedford in the second round, snapping a four-fight win streak.

UFC on FX 8 features a headliner between former Strikeforce middleweight champion Luke Rockhold and Vitor Belfort.

The card includes:

MAIN CARD (FX 9 p.m. ET)

• Vitor Belfort vs. Luke Rockhold
• Constantinos Philippou vs. Ronaldo Souza
• CB Dollaway vs. Cezar Ferreira
• Rafael dos Anjos vs. Evan Dunham

PRELIMINARY CARD (FUEL TV, 6 p.m. ET)

• Hacran Dias vs. Nik Lentz
• Mike Rio vs. Francisco Trinaldo
• Yuri Alcantara vs. Iliarde Santos
• Lance Benoist vs. Paulo Thiago
• Azamat Gashimov vs. John Lineker
• Roger Hollett vs. Fabio Maldonado

PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook, 4:30 p.m. ET)

• John Cholish vs. Gleison Tibau
• Chris Cariaso vs. Jussier Formiga
• Jeremy Larsen vs. Lucas Martins

For the latest on UFC on FX 8, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: Yuri Alcantara)