UFC vet James McSweeney replaces Marcus Sursa vs. Paul Buentello at Legacy FC 22

There has been a change atop Legacy Fighting Championship’s next card.

Marcus Sursa (12-8) has been forced out of his main event light heavyweight fight against Paul Buentello (32-15) at Legacy FC 22. Stepping in for him will be James McSweeney (11-10).

Promotion officials recently confirmed the news to MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) for the Aug. 23 card, which takes place in Lubbock, Texas, likely at Fairgrounds Park Coliseum. The main card will air live on AXS TV.

McSweeney has been on a nice run that has seen him win five of his past six fights and seven of his past nine following a rough stretch of four straight losses. The first two of those setbacks came in the UFC with TKO losses to Travis Browne and Fabio Maldonado, and those got him released from the promotion after a win in his debut at the TUF 10 Finale. The “TUF 10? vet and England native has all 11 of his career wins by stoppage.

Buentello, a Texas native, will be looking for his fourth straight win against the fellow UFC vet. Buentello is a former UFC and Strikeforce heavyweight title challenger with a resume that includes a 3-1 record for Strikeforce with the lone loss coming in a heavyweight title fight against Alistair Overeem. In his past 10 fights, though, Buentello is just 5-5.

Sursa, a Bellator veteran, was looking to build on an April submission win under the C3 Fights banner. No reason was given for his removal from the card.

Legacy FC 22 also will include recent Bellator MMA “Fight Master” contestant Aretenas Young (9-5) against Eric Davila (20-12). Young, a one-time Strikeforce fighter with a 2-1 Legacy record, looks for his second straight while Davila will be trying to snap a two-fight skid.

Also on the card, UFC and WEC vet Damacio Page (12-9) tries to make it two in a row for Legacy against an opponent yet to be announced. Page knocked out Patrick Ybarra in May at Legacy FC 20 in his first fight since being released from the UFC on a four-fight skid.

With the change, the complete Legacy FC 22 card includes:

MAIN CARD (AXS TV, 10 p.m. ET)

• Paul Buentello vs. James McSweeney
• Eric Davila vs. Artenas Young
• Damacio Page vs. TBA
• Brandon Farran vs. Mike Jasper
• Jonathan Lopez vs. Joseph Sandoval
• Anselmo Luna vs. Clayton Robinson

PRELIMINARY CARD (Untelevised, 7 p.m. ET)

• Jon Voth vs. Gino Davila
• Jesse Moreno vs. Dustin Roe
• Thomas Moreno vs. Daniel Perez
• Bruno Bastos vs. Gabriel Garcia
• Jason Gallegos vs. Albert Tapia
• Larry Garcia vs. Joe Saucedo
• Santana Martinez vs. Javier Minjarez
• Eric Lunsford vs. George Trujillo

For more on Legacy FC 22, stay tuned to the MMA Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: James McSweeney)