T.J. O'Brien replaces Brian Cobb vs. Luis Palomino at WSOF 11

WSOF’s return to Florida next month has had a change to the preliminary card.

Brian Cobb (20-8) is out of his fight against Luis Palomino (22-9) at WSOF 11. Stepping in to take his place will be T.J. O’Brien (20-7). A source with knowledge of the change confirmed the news to MMAjunkie. The source spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the booking.

WSOF 11, which marks the organization’s network-television debut on NBC, takes place July 5 at Ocean Center in Daytona, Fla. The main card airs on NBC following prelims on MMAjunkie.

O’Brien has won back-to-back fights after a two-fight skid that included a submission loss to Gesias Cavalcante at WSOF 1 in November 2012. O’Brien, an Iowa native, is a two-fight UFC veteran who has 19 of his 20 wins by submission, including his most recent two in the first round. In May, he tapped out fellow UFC vet Jacob Volkmann.

Palomino, a Bellator veteran, won his WSOF debut in January when he stopped Jorge Patino in the second round with a knockout at WSOF 8. Prior to his current 2-2 stretch the past 18 months, Peru’s Palomino, a frequent training partner of the UFC’s Ricardo Lamas, won seven of eight fights with the lone loss coming to Bellator featherweight champion Pat Curran.

Cobb was hoping to get back on track following a loss a year ago to Justin Gaethje at WSOF 3. He’s been sidelined since that setback, which reversed a split-decision win at WSOF 1 over Ronys Torres. Now the one-time UFC fighter will have to wait even longer to try to get back in the win column.

The latest WSOF 11 lineup includes:

MAIN CARD (NBC, 4 p.m. ET)

• Champ Justin Gaethje vs. Nick Newell – for lightweight title
• Jon Fitch vs. Dennis Hallman
• Gesias Cavalcante vs. Melvin Guillard
• Pablo Alfonso vs. Cody Bollinger

PRELIMINARY CARD (MMAjunkie, 2 p.m. ET)

• T.J. O’Brien vs. Luis Palomino
• Alexandre Pimentel vs. Jerrod Sanders
• Neiman Gracie vs. David Mundell
• Jake Heun vs. Kendrick Miree

or more on WSOF 11, stay tuned to the MMA Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: T.J. O’Brien)