Can lightning strike twice for Jamie Varner?

The former World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) lightweight champion, who defied the odds (literally) in his Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) return earlier this year, has been asked to step in on short notice (again) and fight Joe Lauzon at the upcoming UFC on FOX 4 event scheduled for Aug. 4, 2012 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.

UFC officials announced the bout late last night.

Varner (20-6), who replaces the injured Terry Etim, turned the promotion's lightweight division on its head when he pounded out top-ranked 155-pound prospect Edson Barboza at the UFC 146 pay-per-view (PPV) event last month in Las Vegas.

The unlikely win for "C-4" marked his third in a row -- all stoppages -- having previously finished off Nate Jolly and Drew Fickett under the Xtreme Fighting Championships (XFC) banner in Florida and Knoxville, respectively.

Can he do likewise against Lauzon?

After strangling Melvin Guillard in late 2011, "J-Lau" (21-7) was on the fast track to bigger and better things within the division; however, Anthony Pettis said sayonara to Lauzon's title aspirations with a devastating first round knockout at the UFC 144 event earlier this year in Japan.

Time to get back on the horse and try it again.

UFC on FOX 4 will feature the recently announced light heavyweight bout pitting Mauricio Rua vs. Brandon Vera while Ryan Bader vs. Lyoto Machida and Ben Rothwell vs. Travis Browne are also scheduled to hook 'em up in the "City of Angels."

For the latest UFC on FOX 4 news and notes be sure to check out our complete event archive right here.