UFC 158 Update: T.J. Dillashaw Replaces Injured Mitch Gagnon Against Issei Tamura

UFC officials recently announced that Tamura will now face T.J. Dillashaw at the event, which takes place March 16 at the Bell Centre in Montreal. UFC 158 is headlined by a welterweight title showdown between Georges St. Pierre and Nick Diaz and will also see onetime interim champion Carlos Condit lock horns with Johny Hendricks.

Dillashaw, 27, has tasted defeat just once as a professional, making his way to the finals of “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 14 only to be knocked out by future flyweight title contender John Dodson. The Team Alpha Male standout responded to the setback by posting two straight wins last year, dominating Walel Watson and Vaughan Lee. Dillashaw was supposed to return to action on Dec. 8, but an injury forced him out of a planned UFC on Fox 5 duel with Mike Easton.

One year older than his new opponent, Tamura also competed twice last year, making a successful Octagon debut against Chinese talent Tiequan Zhang at UFC 144. Tamura was knocked out in his next promotional appearance, falling to former WEC competitor Raphael Assuncao on July 11.