Newcomer Vagner Rocha Steps in to Face Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone at UFC 131

With the UFC’s list of lightweights either already tied up or injured, Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone will now face Octagon newcomer Vagner Rocha at UFC 131. The UFC announced the bout late Tuesday night.

MMAWeekly.com first reported Mac Danzig’s exit from the fight due to injury earlier in the day on Tuesday. Within hours, UFC matchmaker Joe Silva found a replacement.

Vagner Rocha makes his UFC debut with a 6-1 record, training under legendary Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu instructor Pablo Popovitch. Rocha has appeared on a major show once before when he fought on the undercard for the Fedor Emelianenko vs. Fabricio Werdum card last year in Strikeforce, losing by decision to Bret Bergmark.

The fight with Cerrone will be a decided step up in competition, but also an obvious opportunity for Rocha.

The UFC has not stated if the fight will remain on the televised portion of the card or not.