UFC News: Dennis Siver Out, Dustin Poirier in Against Cub Swanson at UFC on FUEL 7

By John Heinis on January 18, 2013

Believe it or not, a UFC bout with serious title implications needs to be rebooked due to a fighter pulling out last minute. However, the new fight is arguably better than the first one.

In a featherweight clash, Cub Swanson now meets Dustin “Diamond” Poirier in place of surging contender Dennis Siver.

The UFC’s UK twitter account announced the news Thursday afternoon.

Although Swanson was already knocked out by featherweight champ Jose Aldo in just eight seconds back in June 2009, the Greg Jackson’s MMA fighter has more recently rattled off three straight knockouts over George Roop, Ross Pearson and Charles Oliveira.

Siver was a dark horse title contender at lightweight, winning four straight between June 2010 and July 2011, but after a lop-sided submission loss to Donald Cerrone, decided to drop down to 145-pounds.

He has rallied to earn a pair of convincing wins over Diego Nunes and Nam Phan, but his title hopes will now be put on hold. A reason was not given for Siver’s removal from the card, but due to the UFC’s recent string of luck, odds are a training injury is to blame.

Poirier is no slouch either though, winning six of his past seven fights with his sole loss being an exciting “Fight of the Night” effort against Chan Sung Jung. The bout was awarded the 2012 “Fight of the Year” honor by various MMA media outlets.

The recent addition to American Top Team rebounded from the defeat with a dominant submission win over Jonathan Brookins at The Ultimate Fighter 16 Finale last month.

Given the current landscape of the UFC’s featherweight division, the winner of Swanson vs. Poirier should not be more than one more victory away from a title shot.