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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Next week's UFC 155 card has gotten a late shakeup, as Karlos Vemola has been forced out of a bout with Chris Leben for undisclosed reasons. Stepping into his place is Strikeforce veteran Derek Brunson, who will be making his UFC debut on the card.
Brunson was selected to be on the cast of The Ultimate Fighter's 17th season, which began filming this fall and begins airing in January, but Showtime blocked his participation on the show. However, with the impending end of Strikeforce after their Jan. 12 event, the door has opened to him to debut much sooner and in a much higher profile spot.
The 28-year-old had racked up a 9-0 career record in MMA before falling by split decision to UFC vet and Ultimate Fighter winner Kendall Grove in regional action, and he then suffered a knockout loss against former Strikeforce Champ Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza in his last bout in August.
He'll now meet longtime UFC veteran Leben, who returns for the first time since November of 2011. Leben spent the entirety of 2012 on suspension after testing positive for painkillers into his bout with Mark Munoz at UFC 138 in the UK.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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