Amir Sadollah Injured, Nah-Shon Burrell Now Meets Stephen Thompson at UFC 160

UFC officials announced the news on Wednesday afternoon, revealing that Strikeforce veteran Nah-Shon Burrell will instead face Stephen Thompson at the May 25 event, which takes place at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez will headline the evening’s pay-per-view card, as the American Kickboxing Academy standout rematches Antonio Silva to close the show. The preliminary draw, including Burrell’s welterweight clash with Thompson, airs live on FX and Facebook immediately prior to the main card broadcast.

Burrell, 23, enters the Octagon following a hard-fought victory over fellow prospect Yuri Villefort in his promotional debut at UFC 157. Prior to that Feb. 23 triumph, “The Rock-N-Rolla” saw a six-fight winning streak snapped in his final Strikeforce appearance, as Burrell was knocked out by Chris Spang last year at “Barnett vs. Cormier.”

Thompson has not competed since suffering his first career defeat at the hands of Matt Brown last April. “Wonderboy” was supposed to return to the cage this past November to face Besam Yousef at UFC 154 but was forced to withdraw from that booking due to a knee injury. Known for his superior kickboxing and karate skills, Thompson owns three of his seven pro wins by way of knockout.