Thiago Alves (12-3) will fight Octagon veteran Chris Lytle (24-14-5) -- not Ryo Chonan -- at UFC 78: "Validation" on November 17 at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., according to WrestlingObserver.com.
The announcement is part of a switch-up because Hector Lombard -- the original opponent for Karo Parisyan -- was scratched because of visa problems. To find "The Heat" a top-level talent the UFC decided to match him up against Chonan.
Alves is fresh of a submission win (verbal) at UFC Fight Night 11 last month, strafing Kuniyoshi Hironaka with devastating kicks and punches until the tough Japanese fighter had enough midway through round two.
It was the first appearance for "The Pitbull" since serving an eight-month suspension for testing positive for banned substances (diuretics) after his UFC 66 fight with Tony DeSouza in December 2006. The American Top Team-trained fighter has five wins in seven tries inside the Octagon.
Lytle last appeared inside at the Octagon at UFC 73: "Stacked" in July, submitting Jason Gilliam with an arm lock in round one. The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 4 finalist most recently submitted (guillotine choke) Matt Brown at a United Fight League (UFL) event in his hometown of Indianapolis back in August.
There was some speculation that he might move over to the World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) organization. However, those plans seems to be put on hold ... for now.
To check out the latest rumored UFC 78 fight card click here.
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