Two more stranded fighters from the Affliction: "Trilogy" card have been rescued by the Zuffa regime for an upcoming event.
Dan "The Upgrade" Lauzon (12-2) -- who is the youngest fighter ever to compete for the promotion (18) -- will return against Rafaello "Tractor" Oliveira (8-1) at UFC 103 from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, on Sept. 19, according to FiveKnuckles.com.
UFC President Dana White confirmed yesterday that the fighters were picked up; however, he did not mention that they would tangle in Texas.
Lauzon -- who was scheduled to square off against Chris Horodecki at the now defunct Aug. 1 event --
is the younger brother of current UFC lightweight and The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 5 alum Joe Lauzon. "The Upgrade" made his initial debut for the promotion at UFC 64 back in Oct. 2006, losing to Spencer Fisher via first round technical knockout.
The loss to "The King" was the first of Lauzon's young career. He then had another setback three months later on a Cage Fury Fighting Championships card against Deividas Taurosevicius, getting submitted in the second round.
He has, however, put together an impressive eight-bout winning streak since those back-to-back losses, including his most recent win over Bobby Green at the Affliction: "Day of Reckoning" event back in January.
Lauzon has never been in a fight that has gone to a decision, which is undoubtedly a trait that piqued the interest of White and his Zuffa cohorts.
Oliveira is a Brazilian native who holds a black belt in jiu jitsu. He was set to face former Pride FC kingpin Takanori Gomi before the collapse of Affliction MMA. "The Tractor" is probably best known for the fight that produced the only loss on his record.
Last October, the Premier Martial Arts product took on current undefeated Strikeforce contender Lyle Beerbohm on the televised portion of a Sho XC event on Showtime. He was giving Beerbohm all he could handle in the match and looked to be in control of the fight before sustaining a fight-ending cut above his eye late in the first round.
Oliveira has won three straight since the semi-impressive loss to "Fancy Pants," including two stints on XFC cards. Like Lauzon, he is also an aggressive fighter with a strong rate of finishing fights, having stopped 75 percent of his opponents before the final bell.
UFC 103 will feature a new-look main event between Rich "Ace" Franklin and Vitor "The Phenom" Belfort at a 195-pound catchweight. Also slated for the main card is a heavyweight tilt between former PRIDE superstar Mirko Cro Cop and surging heavyweight prospect Junior Dos Santos.
In addition, Martin Kampmann and Mike Swick will collide to determine the number one contender for Georges St. Pierre’s 170-pound title.
For the latest UFC 103 fight card click here.