Tim Boetsch vs C.B. Dollaway UFC 166 fight booked for Houston with Luke Rockhold injured

Former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Luke Rockhold has been forced to withdraw from his upcoming Middleweight showdown against Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) "Barbarian" Tim Boetsch because of an undisclosed injury suffered training.

The mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion's resident "Doberman," C.B. Dollaway, will serve as his replacement at UFC 166, which takes place at Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, on Oct. 19, 2013, according to its official Twitter.com account.

Dollaway rebounded from devastating back-to-back (technical) knockouts to Mark Munoz and Jared Hamman to win a unanimous decision over Jason Miller at UFC 146 and then eke past Daniel Sarafian at UFC on FX 7 earlier this year. The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 7 runner-up would certainly boost his 185-pound status exponentially seemingly overnight with a win over Boetsch, who has recently hit a rough patch.

After getting whipped by Constantinos Philippou at UFC 155 in Dec. 2012, Boetsch fell into an 0-2 hole against the resurgent Munoz as part of the UFC 162 Fourth of July weekend extravaganza earlier this year in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Another loss and the former top-ranked division contender could have one foot out the door.

UFC 166 will be headlined by a Heavyweight championship trilogy bout as reigning division kingpin Cain Velasquez puts his title on the line against Junior dos Santos in what will be the third meeting between the pair in less than two years.

That's not all.

Top UFC Lightweight contenders Gilbert Melendez and Diego Sanchez are also slated to hook 'em up in a bout that could have serious 155-pound title implications, while Roy Nelson returns to the Octagon to throw hands opposite Daniel Cormier.

Not bad, not bad at all.

For the current UFC 166 fight card and rumors click here. To see all the "Velasquez vs. Dos Santos 3" news and notes click here.