The UFC has found Rich Attonito (10-4) an opponent. Announced Thursday night, officials have tapped Octagon newcomer Jake Hecht (10-2) to fill the vacant welterweight spot at UFC 140.
Attonito was initially slated to face rising Canadian prospect Claude Patrick, however Patrick was removed from the bout after an injury to main card participant Rory MacDonald. Patrick is now scheduled to fight MacDonald's opponent, Brian Ebersole, on the main card.
Attonito, a veteran of "The Ultimate Fighter 11", has racked up a 3-1 record in the UFC, collecting victories over Jamie Yager, Rafael Natal, and Daniel Roberts. Known as "The Raging Bull," the 34-year-old fought at middleweight for much of his career until making his debut at 175 pounds in June.
His newest opponent, Hecht, is a Missouri-based submission specialist training out of Fiore MMA. The 27-year-old carries a three-fight win streak into his UFC debut, including a unanimous decision victory over Michele Verginelli in June.
UFC 140 takes place December 10th at Toronto's Air Canada Centre. Jon Jones defends his UFC light heavyweight title against unexpected challenger Lyoto Machida in the night's main event.
UFC 140 fight card:
Main card:
Light Heavyweight Championship: Jon Jones vs. Lyoto Machida
Heavyweight: Frank Mir vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
Light Heavyweight: Tito Ortiz vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
Featherweight: Mark Hominick vs. Chan Sung Jung
Welterweight: Claude Patrick vs. Brian Ebersole
Preliminary card:
Light Heavyweight: Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Igor Pokrajac
Middleweight: Jared Hamman vs. Constantinos Philippou
Lightweight: John Makdessi vs. Dennis Hallman
Lightweight: Mark Bocek vs. Nik Lentz
Welterweight: Rich Attonito vs. Jake Hecht
Lightweight: Mitch Clarke vs. John Cholish
Bantamweight: Yves Jabouin vs. Walel Watson