Ladies and gentlemen, "Red" has returned.
Back-to-back losses may have sent him packing, but an injury to Nick Catone has brought him back. Milwaukee mauler Eric Schafer has been tapped to step in on somewhat short notice to battle Aaron Simpson at the upcoming UFC 136 event scheduled for the Toyota Center on Oct. 8 in Houston, Texas.
The promotion recently confirmed the re-worked contest via its official website.
Following his release, Schafer didn't spend much time moping about, submitting Chris Albandia at XFO 41: "Outdoor War 7" earlier this year. The win was good enough to earn him a second look after "The Jersey Devil" was benched for his boo-boos.
Simpson has been busy as a bee so far in 2011, amassing an impressive pair of wins over Mario Miranda and Brad Tavares on March 26 and July 2, respectively.The pair of dubyas was a much-needed turnaround after two straight losses to the division's elite in Chris Leben and Mark Munoz.
Does a third get him back into the title hunt?
UFC 136 will be headlined by the third and final fight between Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard with Jose Aldo vs. Kenny Florian occupying the co-main event slot.
If that's not enough for you, a veritable number one middleweight contender bout pitting a returning Chael Sonnen against "All American" Brian Stann is also going down in "Space City."
And to top it all off, the list of incredible match-ups recently booked for the card include Demian Maia vs. Jorge Santiago, Melvin Guillard vs. Joe Lauzon and Anthony Pettis vs. Jeremy Stephens.
For all the latest news and notes -- and there are plenty -- for UFC 136 be sure to check out our event archive right here.