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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Gabe Ruediger was forced out of a bout with British lightweight Paul Kelly at last weekend's UFC 123 event in Detroit due to injury, but now he'll get another Brit in February, as MMAWeekly.com reports that he'll meet Paul Taylor at UFC 126 in Las Vegas.
Ruediger and Kelly had a verbal spat going back and forth prior to Ruediger's injury, and he had wanted a shot at Kelly still when he was able to return, but it will be Taylor instead. Ruediger returned to the UFC in August for the first time since being kicked off of The Ultimate Fighter during the fifth season of the show. However, he was decimated at the hands of Joe Lauzon in Boston, losing by submission in the first round at UFC 118.
Taylor will likely be fighting for his UFC life as well following back to back decision losses in the Octagon. The Brit had gone 3-4 in the UFC as a welterweight in the UFC, but was given a chance to continue his career in the lightweight division. He lost to Sam Stout by split decision at UFC 121 in his lightweight debut. Although he's lost five fights in the Octagon, three of them have earned him "Fight of the Night" honors.
UFC 126 takes place from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas on February 5, headlined by the Middleweight Championship bout between Anderson Silva and Vitor Belfort
Penick's Analysis: This is a solid preliminary fight to eliminate one of the fighters from the roster. With the WEC lightweights coming over, there's no way the loser of this fight stays in the UFC, and the winner may still be hanging by a thread depending on how the fight goes. The lightweight division is going to be the most ruthless with cuts, simply because there will be more of them than in any of the other divisions in the organization at this point, so both of these guys will need to prove their worth.
UPDATE: MMAWeekly initially reported the bout for UFC 127 in Australia, but it is instead coming to UFC 126 in Las Vegas.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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