Mirko Filipovic (better known as “Cro Cop”) was tapped as Noguiera’s replacement and will now instead face Frank Mir in the main event of UFC 119.  Although the original main event was enticing, this match up presents a large amount of interest now as well.  Cro Cop is currently on a two fight win streak, with his most recent win coming over Pat Barry by a late Rear Naked Choke at UFC 115.  Before the fight, many people questioned whether Cro Cop was still committed to the sport and if Cro Cop would even be competitive in the fight.  Through out the three round affair, Cro Cop was dropped and rocked but battled back by controlling the fight on the ground and eventually locked in the submission with no hooks.

Frank Mir is coming off a stinging loss to Shane Carwin back at UFC 111.  Mir battled Carwin for the interim UFC Heavyweight Championship and would lose via first round KO from vicious uppercuts delivered by Carwin.  In the fight Mir negated Carwin’s wrestling and focused too greatly on defending the takedown.  With Mir too focused on one aspect of the fight, Carwin capitalized and delivered numerous uppercuts that left Mir face down on the canvas.

This fight serves as an extremely pivotal one for both fighters as it will help decide which fighter sits in the top 5 of the Heavyweight division and which one falls even further down the ladder.

Loiseau, born and raised in Montreal, is a long-time friend and training partner of UFC Welterweight Champion George St. Pierre.  Loiseau is a light-hearted Frenchman and well remembered amongst MMA fans for his several stints inside the UFC.  Loiseau’s first fight in the UFC occurred at UFC 42 back in April of 2005 in which he defeated Mark Weir.  Following a loss to Jorge Rivera, Loiseau would leave the UFC and fight in the TKO organization before once again returning and building himself up to number one contender status.  Loiseau faced Rich Franklin for the Middleweight title at UFC 58 and lost in a unanimous decision.  Following 2 more losses, Loiseau was released.  Last year at UFC 97 we saw Loiseau return once again to the UFC, this time to face The Ultimate Fighter 3 runner-up, Ed Herman.

Loiseau would lose yet again by Unanimous Decision and be released one more time.  Loiseau sports a 4-4 record within the UFC and come May 8th, he will get yet another chance to prove why he belongs in the UFC against John Salter.  Will Loiseau be able to seize the opportunity and capture a victory or will “The Crow” fall victim to Salter?

John Salter is a fresh, new face in the UFC’s Middleweight division.  Salter made his MMA debut back In March of 2009 and compiled a 4-0 record before signing with the UFC.  In his UFC debut he took on The Ultimate Fighter 7 veteran Gerald Harris at Fight Night 20: Maynard vs. Diaz.  John Salter would suffer his first professional loss by TKO in the 3rd round.  John Salter was originally set to face Nick Catone until Catone just recently was forced out due to a back injury.  Now 0-1 in the UFC, Salter has a big opportunity to gain a large amount of exposure if he is capable of beating a name as recognizable as David Loiseau.  Come UFC 113, Salter has all the cards in his favour as he looks to play spoiler to Loiseau’s home coming.

So recap: 3 under card fights get a change for UFC 113.  The new opponents are all Canadians AND all have former experience with the UFC.  Just when it seemed the card was lacking Canadian talent…

Written by FightPros.com contributor Dylan Routledge.  Follow him on the twitter @Dylan_Geezus

The card  features many talented and recognizable names as well as some match ups that could make a run for the Fight of the Year honours.  One of those match ups could have been an preliminary card fight between contestants from The Ultimate Fighter 7 and 8, Tim Credeur and Tom Lawlor respectively.  Credeur and Lawlor are charismatic and exciting fighters, both men having won Fight of the Night honours in their most recent bouts.  Both men have a strong technical base to their game but in a second they are willing to throw technique aside to put on an exciting and entertaining scrap for the fans.  Their scheduled fight for UFC 113 promised to provide such excitement until Credeur was forced out of the fight due to an injury he sustained training.  In his place, MMA veteran Joe “El Dirte” Doerksen will step back into the Octagon one more time.

Joe “El Dirte” Doerksen is a recognizable face amongst die hard MMA fans as a veteran of over 50 fights, having fought all over the world.  Doerksen has previous experience in the UFC, having first fought against Joe Riggs at UFC 49 back in 2004.  Joe would lose the bout due to submission by strikes.  Joe would then compete in the UFC on 5 other separate occasions, losing in all 5 fights.  Having a 0-6  record within the UFC is unheard of and it seems as though Joe was brought back simply to elevate the young and promising star in Tom Lawlor.  Will “El Dirte” be able to upset Lawlor or will things get “Filthy” for him as he drops to 0-7 in the UFC?

Tom Lawlor is best known for his brief, yet extremely entertaining stint on The Ultimate Fighter 8.  He was a member of Team Mir and was the first casualty of the season as he lost to eventual winner, Ryan Bader.  Since then Tom has not only been known for his exciting entrances to the Octagon, but also for his exciting performances within it.  Since the show, Tom has gone 2-1, having defeated fellow TUF 8 castemate Kyle Kingsbury in his debut before dropping down to 185 lbs. and defeating the very tough C.B. Dollaway.  His first loss would come from C.B.’s teammate, Aaron Simpson in a Fight of the Night, Split Decision loss.  Come UFC 113, Lawlor looks to make some “dirty” money and continue his success in the Octagon at the expense of Joe Doerksen.

I could sit here all day making jokes about how these two fighters nickname’s fit together so well but I’ll just leave it at this:  This fight will be filthy and I’ll love every second of it

Written by FightPros.com contributor Dylan Routledge.  Follow him on twitter @dylan_geezus

Anthony Johnson was slated to face off against John Howard at UFC LIVE: Vera vs. Jones, the first ever UFC broadcast on the VERSUS channel, until it was confirmed today that Anthony Johnson had injured his knee.  It was confirmed by CFX owner, Linda Shields, via twitter that Johnson had to pull out due to a knee injury.  It should come as no surprise seeing as Johnson has had a history of knee injuries with his most recent one stopping him from making weight for his fight at UFC 104 against Yoshiyuki Yoshida.  Anthony lost 50 lbs. in the two weeks leading into the fight but failed to shed 6 more pounds to make the Welterweight weight limit.

Anthony Johnson has proven to be an explosive striker within the UFC posting a 5-3 record with all 5 wins coming by (T)KO.  He most recently lost at UFC 106 in the co-main event against Welterweight top contender Josh Koscheck.  The fight was scarred with controversy as Johnson delivered an illegal knee to a downed Koscheck.  Koscheck would recover and deliver two eye pokes to Johnson before finishing him off via Rear Naked Choke.  Although the fight was controversial, it did provide that Anthony Johnson is in need of improvement in the realm of submission defense.

John Howard came aboard the UFC’s Welterweight division in January of 2009, defeating Chris Wilson via Split Decision.  He would then roll of two more consecutive wins defeating the likes of Tamdam McCroy and Dennis Hallman.  Howard now boasts a 3-0 record within the octagon and in the fight against Johnson, would have looked to solidify himself as a rising star within the UFC.  With UFC’s live debut on Versus only a month away one must begin to wonder who will step in to face Howard on such short notice.

UFC LIVE: Vera vs. Jones is set to take place on March 21st at the 1st Bank Centre in Broomfield, Colorado.  The fight card is set to feature Gabriel Gonzaga taking on Junior Dos Santos and a Main Event which sees Jon “Bones” Jones against Brandon “The Truth” Vera.

Although Silva will no longer face Vitor in the near future it is being said that Silva could face Chael Sonnen, who is coming off a dominate decision win over Nate Marquardt, at UFC 112 instead.  With his win over Nate, Sonnen solidified himself as a top contender for the Middleweight title and was promised a shot at the winner of Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort.  In light of recent events it looks like Sonnen will not have to wait long to have his shot at Anderson Silva`s Middleweight title.