Costa Philippou Out at UFC on FX 8, Chris Camozzi Steps Up to Face Jacare

An injury has forced Costa Philippou out of his UFC on FX 8 bout with Ronald “Jacare” Souza.

UFC officials announced Philippou’s injury and his replacement Friday morning. A report from MMAFighting.com indicated that Philippou suffered a cut above his eye, although UFC officials did not confirm the nature of the injury.

With Philippou out, Chris Camozzi was pulled from his feature bout against Rafael Natal, and plugged into the co-main event to face Jacare.

Camozzi (19-5) has been tearing up the UFC middleweight ranks recently. After losing a decision to Georges St-Pierre training partner Francis Carmont at UFC 137, Camozzi has gone on a four-fight winning streak, defeating Dustin Jacoby, Nick Catone, Luiz Cane, and Nick Ring.

The Colorado native has fought on the main card before, including his recent fight with Ring at UFC 158, but facing Jacare propels him into the co-main event on FX.

Jacare (17-3) is making his Octagon debut at UFC on FX 8, but being a former Strikeforce middleweight champion and fighting on his home turf in Brazil makes him a significant step up for Camozzi.

Jacare lost his Strikeforce belt to Luke Rockhold in 2011, but has since reeled off three consecutive victories, beating Bristol Marunde, Derek Brunson, and most recently Ed Herman.

With Camozzi moving to fight Jacare, his original opponent, Rafael Natal (15-4-1) now squares off with UFC newcomer João Zeferino (13-4).

Vitor Belfort vs. Luke Rockhold headlines UFC on FX 8 in a five-round middleweight non-title fight. The event is slated for Saturday, May 18, in Jaraguá do Sul, Santa Catarina, Brazil.