Brad Tavares fills vacancy against Aaron Simpson at UFC 132

When the UFC named newly signed middleweight Jason “Mayhem” Miller as one-half of the coaching hierarchy on the Ultimate Fighter Season 14 it left Aaron Simpson, who had been scheduled to mix it up with Miller this summer, without an opponent and likely a bit confused.

However, both problems have now been remedied as the organization announced late on Monday undefeated Hawaiian Brad Tavares has agreed to take Miller’s place and will now face the 9-2 Simpson at UFC 132.

Tavares has gone 2-0 since a stint on TUF 11 including an opening round knockout of Phil Baroni on New Year’s Day at UFC 125. The bout marked the seventh win of the 23-year old’s career and his sixth finishing performance.

The former All-American wrestler out of Arizona State will also be riding the momentum of success in his previous outing when he meets Tavares on July 2, as Simpson outpointed Mario Miranda in March and in the process notched his fourth victory inside the Octagon.

UFC 132 is headlined by bantamweight champ Dominick Cruz defending his title against rival Urijah Faber. The Fourth of July Weekend event also features a bout between hard-hitting slugger Wanderlei Silva and Chris Leben as well as a number of other interesting match-ups including Carlos Condit vs. Dong Hyun Kim and Tito Ortiz vs. Ryan Bader.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC