With a cut above Alexander Gustafsson‘s eyebrow putting the main event of this Saturday’s UFC on FUEL TV 9 event into question, it appears as though a veteran fighter is going to step up and fill in the void if Gustafsson’s scheduled fight against Gegard Mousasi can’t go on. Wanderlei Silva, who defeated Brian Stann via knockout at UFC on FUEL TV 9 last month, tweeted today that the UFC called him about taking the fight against Mousasi this past weekend, and that he has accepted and will be leaving for Sweden early Tuesday morning. TATAME.com confirmed with Silva that what he tweeted wasn’t an April Fool’s joke, and that he has already packed his bags for Sweden and will be taking Rafael Cordeiro and Fabricio Werdum with him to be in his corner this weekend. However, according to a tweet from UFC president Dana White, the fight with Gustafsson and Mousasi is still going on, even though it’s been reported by multiple Swedish news outlets that the fight is 99 percent going to be cancelled because the cut above Gustafsson’s eyebrow is bad enough that the Swedish MMA Federation has threatened to pull the plug on the fight. If the Gustafsson vs. Mousasi fight doesn’t happen, then the scheduled co-main event is a lightweight battle between Ross Pearson and Ryan Couture and that fight definitely isn’t main event caliber. However, a fight between Mousasi and Silva — while not featuring a Swedish fighter in it — is still an excellent bout and the fans that have paid for their tickets to the event should be happy if this is indeed the switch. If Mousasi vs. Silva becomes the new main event of UFC on FUEL TV 9, expect Mousasi to open as a healthy -250 favorite, with the comeback on Silva being in the +200 range. Camozzi Fills In For Dollaway Against Mutante At UFC On FX 8 An injury to CB Dollaway has forced him out of his upcoming UFC on FX 8 fight against TUF Brazil winner Cezar Mutante, and in his place steps Chris Camozzi, who defeated Nick Ring via split decision at UFC 158 just over two weeks ago. The fight, which takes place May 18 at Arena Jaragua in Jaragua do Sul, will take place on the evening’s main card. Camozzi (19-5) has looked great as of late, picking up four-straight victories over Ring, Luiz Cane, Nick Catone, and Dustin Jacoby to emerge as a darkhorse contender in the UFC middleweight division. The 28-year-old has made constant improvements to his game since his time on “The Ultimate Fighter” and another win, which would be five in row, would push him way up the middleweight rankings. Mutante (5-2) won TUF Brazil last June at UFC 147 when he defeated Sergio Moraes. However, he has been out with injuries ever since. Mutante will be coming off a long layoff going into this bout with Camozzi, who has 30 minutes of cage time since Mutante’s last appearance, and that will likely prove to be a big disadvantage. Expect this fight to be pretty close in the betting odds, but it would not be surprising at all to see Camozzi as the favorite for once, even though he’ll be fighting in Mutante’s backyard in Brazil and even thought Mutante has more hype surrounding him.
MMA Odds and Ends for Monday: Silva vs. Mousasi Rumored
