Breaking: Johny Hendricks faces Matt Brown -- not Robbie Lawler -- at UFC 185 on March 14 in Dallas

Johny Hendricks was all set to try and reclaim his welterweight title against current division champion, Robbie Lawler, later this year after the two went back-and-forth at UFC 181 in Dec. 2014.

Instead, "Bigg Rigg" has opted to take another fight in the interim instead of waiting around for summer to get back inside the Octagon.

UFC confirmed that Hendricks will now face Matt Brown in the co-main event of UFC 185, which goes down on March 14, 2015, in Dallas, Texas. Ted Ehrhardt, Hendricks' manager, says the former champ simply wanted to stay busy instead of waiting around.

His words (via MMA Fighting):

"We didn't want to wait around. Lawler didn't want to fight until the summer, but we wanted to keep fighting. Title shot or not, no one wants to sit around another six or seven more months."

It's a bold move, really, as Brown is as tough as they come and is more than willing to offer Hendricks another stand-up war.

"Immortal" hasn't seen the inside of the Octagon since coming up short against the aforementioned Lawler last year. And after Tarec Saffiedine bowed out of their fight -- which was set for UFC Fight Night 60 this February in Denver, Colo. -- he was left without a dance partner.

Now he'll get his much-desired Top 10-ranked opponent in "Big D." As a result of the switch, Brandon Thatch vs. Stephen Thompson will serve as the headlining bout for UFC Fight Night 60.

Question is, does this open up the door for Rory McDonald's title shot? Or does "Red King" have to "fuck someone up" first?

UFC 185 will feature a lightweight title fight between division champ Anthony Pettis and Rafael dos Anjos, as well as a hard-hitting heavyweight bout between Alistair Overeem and Roy Nelson.

Stacked!