Another injury has hit the UFC 155 card as Karlos Vemola has suffered an injury that has forced him out of his bout against Chris Leben and stepping in on short notice will be former Strikeforce middleweight Derek Brunson. 
UFC officials have not officially announced the change, but both Leben and Brunson confirmed the news on Twitter today.
Brunson (9-2) was set to be a contestant on the next season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” but was pulled from the show as the UFC was about to begin filming the show. He was pulled from the show since Showtime would not let him appear on the show since he was a Strikeforce fighter.
After starting his career with nine straight victories, he has lost two in a row which were a split decision lost to Kendall Grove and a knockout defeat against Jacare Souza in Strikeforce earlier this year. Seven of his nine career victories have come in the first round, with four of those victories coming by knockout.
Leben (22-8) will be returning from a suspension in this fight, which he received following his UFC 138 lost against Mark Munoz. He was suspended by the UFC for a positive drug test, which was not the first time in his career that he tested positive for a banned substance. He has gone 4-2 in his last six fights, but has lost two of his last three.
The fight between Leben and Vemola was scheduled to be the opening bout of the UFC 155 pay-per-view and it’s not clear if the bout between Leben and Brunson will stay on this portion of the fight card.
UFC 155 takes place on December 29th at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and will be headlined by Junior dos Santos defending the UFC heavyweight title against Cain Velasquez, which is a rematch of their fight from last year.