UFC 117: 'Mr. Wonderful' returns to face Rodney Wallace with Stanislav Nedkov hurt

Stanislav Nedkov will quietly bow out of his UFC 117 fight against Rodney Wallace after suffering an undisclosed injury in training, allowing Phil Davis to step in on short notice to try and keep his undefeated streak alive, according to MMAWeekly.

Davis (6-0) is coming off a "Wonderful" performance against Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 112: "Invincible" earlier this year, giving the "Mauler" all he could handle before choking him out at the end of the first round.

The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu blue belt is an absolute beast on the mat, winning the NCAA Division I at 197 pounds in 2008. He made the transition to mixed martial arts shortly after graduation, winning his first four bouts in impressive fashion before getting the invitation to join the deep UFC 205-pound roster.

Opposing him is Rodney Wallace, who is in dire need of a win to keep himself inside the Octagon.

"Sho'Nuff the Master" sailed into the UFC with lofty expectations after a torrid 9-0 run on the independent circuit, including a submission win (armbar) over Strikeforce light heavyweight prospect Antwain Britt.

Unfortunately Brian Stann wasn't impressed, outpointing Wallace en route to a unanimous decision win at last year's Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 10 Finale. The Salisbury native would drop his second straight decision, albeit in exciting fashion, to Jared Hamman at UFC 111: "St. Pierre vs. Hardy" last March.

Getting back into the win column over a highly-touted prospect like Davis would go along way in securing future UFC appearances.

UFC 117: "Silva vs. Sonnen" is set to be headlined by the middleweight title bout between Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen. Also featured will be perennial top welterweight contenders Jon Fitch and Thiago Alves along with another 170-pound showdown between Matt Hughes and Ricardo Almeida.

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