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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Donald Cerrone will be making his UFC debut a bit ahead of schedule, as he is stepping up on a month's notice to face off against Paul Kelly at UFC 126.
The news comes from MMAWeekly.com, who reports that Kelly's originally scheduled opponent, Sam Stout, has pulled out of the event with an injury. "Cowboy" has stepped up to replace him.
Cerrone enters the UFC on the back of two consecutive victories to close out his WEC career. After avenging his loss to Jamie Varner in perhaps his most impressive performance in the WEC, and then submitted Chris Horodecki in the final event in the organization's history.
Kelly looks to continue his momentum following a second round TKO victory over T.J. O'Brien at UFC 123 in November. It was his third win in five fights at lightweight in the UFC.
UFC 126 airs live on pay-per-view 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 good fight for Cerrone to take in his UFC debut. He's still fresh off of the Horodecki fight, didn't take much damage and can absolutely come in and compete with Kelly. If he can pick up this win it will make for a good start for him in the Octagon. Being on this big of an event as well, an impressive win will get him on the broadcast. This is a very good late replacement for this event.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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