Cole Miller has stepped in to face BJ Penn at UFC 199. Penn was originally scheduled to face German Dennis Siver, but Siver pulled out of the bout earlier today with an undisclosed injury.
The news was announced on Wednesday’s edition of UFC Tonight.
Miller (21-9 (1NC) MMA, 10-7 (1NC) UFC) is 2-2 with one No Contest in his last five bouts. Miller faced Manvel Gamburyan at UFC Fight Night 26 in August of 2013 and lost the bout via decision. The 32-year-old rebounded from the loss with a decision victory over Englishman Andy Ogle. Miller then took home a submission victory over Sam Sicilia in January of 2014. Miller was out for over a year when he stepped into the cage to face Max Holloway. Miller lost the bout via decision. In his most recent bout, Miller fought Jim Alers, but was rendered unable to continue following an eye poke and the bout was rendered a No Contest.
Penn (16-10-2 MMA, 12-9-2 UFC) is currently without an opponent but the UFC are looking into possible replacements. The former UFC lightweight champion is 1-3-1 in his last five bouts and is currently on a three fight skid. Penn’s last victory was over Matt Hughes at UFC 123, following that, he fought to a draw with Jon Fitch. Penn then faced Nick Diaz at UFC 137 and lost the bout via unanimous decision. Following the loss, Penn came up against Rory MacDonald, and again, lost a decision. Most recently, the Hawaiian was stopped by Frankie Edgar in the third round of their bout at The Ultimate Fighter: Team Edgar vs. Team Penn.
UFC 199 takes place live from The Forum in Inglewood, California. The card is expected to be headlined by a middleweight championship fight between Luke Rockhold and Chris Weidman.
