Hougland Pulled from Vegas UFC Fight Card, Will Battle in Virginia in May Instead

Jeff Hougland's Twitter page last weekend indicated he was no longer going to be fighting top-ranked Renan Barao at UFC 148 in Las Vegas this July.

Followers on his Facebook page expressed disappointment in the change, particularly in what they perceived as an opportunity lost for the local business owner to make a strong showing on a national platform against a strong opponent. Even Hougland said of that match-up, "On paper, he [Barao] could murder me. If I beat him, I get in the mix and get a huge bump up. That's what this is about. I didn't go to the UFC to say, 'hey can I fight the losing-est guys you got?'"

But the UFC does have a way of changing things up and sometimes in ways that are particularly circular. According to the website Heavy UFC, Hougland will now be facing Yves Jabouin in a bantamweight showdown in May because Jabouin's scheduled opponent Mike Easton was out with an injury.

Easton was the fighter that Hougland was to battle before . Barao now faces Ivan Menjivar.

If he's disappointed, Hougland's not showing it. "UFC needs me in Virginia so that's where I'll be," he responded to Patch on Facebook.

The fight will be on a card headlined by a featherweight match-up between Dustin Poirier and "The Korean Zombie," Chan Sung Jung taking place May 15 at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Va. It will be broadcast on Fuel TV 3.