According to Fanhouse, Matt Veach, who had been set to fight Mark Bocek on the event’s preliminary card, is the leading candidate to replace Pellegrino, who is suffering from three herniated discs in his back and will be sidelined at least three weeks, with the injury.

Previously-reported fights between Matt Hamill and Jon Jones as well as Frankie Edgar and Kurt Pellegrino were confirmed for The Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale, while BJ Penn vs. Diego Sanchez, Frank Mir vs. Cheick Kongo, and Thiago Alves vs. Paulo Thiago were announced for UFC 107.

For the latest UFC news and UFC rumors stay tuned to MMAFrenzy.com.

Pictured: Jon Jones

Pellegrino was last in action at UFC 101 in August where he earned a unanimous decision victory of Josh Neer. The bout was the third in a three fight win streak for “Batman” since he was submitted by Nate Diaz in April of 2008. The New Jersey based fighter has amassed a 14-4 record (6-3 UFC) in his MMA career, including nine submission victories.

Edgar will be looking to develop end Pellegrino’s winning streak while continuing one of his own. His last fight was a unanimous decision victory over Sean Sherk at UFC 98. The only loss currently on Edgars record is a Unanimous decision loss to Gray Maynard in April of 2008.

The Howard vs. Hallman bout, which was originally reported to be scheduled for UFC 106, has been moved to the card for The Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale, according to a report from MMAJunkie. This bout will mark Hallman’s promotional return, after a four year absence. Both fighters will be looking to extend winning streaks that night, Hallman will look to add a fifth victory to his current streak and Howard will be fighting for his sixth consecutive win.

The Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale will also feature the final fight to determine the seasons winner, as well as other bouts including Matt Hammill vs. Jon Jones.

Stay tuned to MMAFrenzy.com for the latest TUF 10 Finale rumors.

Pictured: Kurt Pellegrino

After stunning Florian several times over the first three rounds and stifling the challenger’s takedown attempts, Penn got a takedown of his own before taking Florian’s back. After softening him with kicks to the body, Penn secured a rear naked choke and Florian was forced to submit 3:54 into the fourth frame.

Penn (14-5-1) rebounds from a January welterweight loss to champion Georges St-Pierre by winning his fourth-straight fight at 155-pounds, while the loss for Florian (11-4), his first in nearly three-years, snaps a six-fight winning streak.

In the UFC 101 co-headliner, UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva returned to the light heavyweight division and silenced his critics, following up back-to-back lackluster wins with a first-round knckout of former 205-pound champ Forrest Griffin.

After an aggressive start by Griffin that saw him miss with a head kick attempt, Silva tagged Forrest with punches, sending him to the canvas twice, and taunted him to attack, leaving his hands at his waist. As Griffin again pressed forward Silva backpeddled, but connected with a compact right that sent Forrest to the canvas for a third and final time as the referee immediately stepped in and stopped the fight.

Knocked unconscious by the awkward-yet-powerful punch, Griffin quickly returned to his feet and ran out of the Octagon while Silva celebrated his return to form. “The Spider” (25-4) extends his win streak to 11-straight overall, including 10-straight UFC victories, while Griffin (16-6) has now lost two-straight.

In other main card action, Aaron Riley, Ricardo Almeida, and Kurt Pellegrino all picked up unanimous decision wins, while Johny Hendricks knocked out Amir Sadollah in just 29-seconds in a controversial stoppage.

The complete results for UFC 101 were:

• B.J. Penn (c) def. Kenny Florian via submission (rear naked choke) — Round 4, 3:54
  UFC Lightweight Championship
• Anderson Silva def. Forrest Griffin via KO (punch) — Round 1, 3:23
• Aaron Riley def. Shane Nelson via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Johny Hendricks def. Amir Sadollah via TKO (strikes) — Round 1, 0:29
• Ricardo Almeida def. Kendall Grove via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Kurt Pellegrino def. Josh Neer via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• John Howard def. Tamdan McCrory via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Alessio Sakara def. Thales Leites via split decision (29-28, 27-30, 29-28)
• Matthew Riddle def. Dan Cramer via unanimous decision (29-27, 30-26, 30-27)
• George Sotiropoulos def. George Roop via submission (kimura) — Round 2, 1:59
• Jesse Lennox def. Danillo Villefort via TKO (cut) — Round 3, 3:37

Click here for more UFC 101 coverage.

The UFC lightweight champion Penn and challenger Florian both tipped the scales exactly at 155 pounds, while UFC middleweight title-holder Anderson Silva and Forrest Griffin both weighed in at 205 for their light heavyweight matchup.

Welterweight Tamdan McCrory was the only fighter who visibly struggled to make weight, arriving at the scale still wearing his sauna suit, but didn’t require the one-pound allowance, weighing in right at the division limit of 170-pounds.

One of the lone surprises at the UFC 101 weigh-ins was The Ultimate Fighter 7 winner Amir Sadollah, who weighed in at just 166.5 pounds for his 170-pound welterweight matchup against Johny Hendricks.

The official weigh-in results for UFC 101 were:

MAIN CARD

• 155: B.J. Penn (c) (155) vs. Kenny Florian (155)
  UFC Lightweight Championship
• 205: Anderson Silva (205) vs. Forrest Griffin (205)
• 185: Kendall Grove (185.5) vs. Ricardo Almeida (185)
• 155: Josh Neer (155.5) vs. Kurt Pellegrino (154.5)
• 170: Amir Sadollah (166.5) vs. Johny Hendricks (171)

PRELIMINARY CARD

• 155: Shane Nelson (156) vs. Aaron Riley (154)
• 170: Tamdan McCrory (170) vs. John Howard (169.5)
• 185: Thales Leites (185) vs. Alessio Sakara (185.5)
• 170: Matthew Riddle (170) vs. Dan Cramer (169.5)
• 155: George Sotiropoulos (155) vs. George Roop (154)
• 170: Jesse Lennox (171) vs. Danillo Villefort (170.25)

Remember: Fighters are granted a one-pound allowance for non-championship bouts.

Pictured: Anderson Silva

Amir Sadollah

The UFC today announced the majority of the fight card for UFC 101: Declaration, which is set for August 8th at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia.

Joining BJ Penn vs. Kenny Florian and Anderson Silva vs. Forrest Griffin on the pay-per-view main card will be Johny Hendricks vs. Amir Sadollah, Ricardo Almeida vs. Kendall Grove, and Josh Neer vs. Kurt Pellgrino.

Shane Nelson vs. Aaron Riley, John Howard vs. Tamdan McCrory, Dan Cramer vs. Matthew Riddle, Rob Emerson vs. George Sotiropoulos, and Jesse Lennox vs. Danillo Villefort were confirmed for the unaired preliminary card.

The only rumored bout that has not yet been officially announced is a middleweight fight between Thales Leites and Alessio Sakara.

Tickets for UFC 101: Declaration will go on sale next week.

Stay tuned to MMAFrenzy.com for the latest UFC 101 news.

Amir Sadollah

The UFC on Monday confirmed seven additional bouts for UFC 101, which takes place on August 8th at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia and features UFC lightweight champion BJ Penn taking on challenger Kenny Florian and UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva returning to the light heavyweight division to take on Forrest Griffin.

Officially announced today were Ricardo Almeida vs. Kendall Grove, Josh Neer vs. Kurt Pellegrino, Amir Sadollah vs. Johny Hendricks, Tamdan McCrory vs. John Howard, Matt Riddle vs. Dan Cramer, George Sotiropoulos vs. Rob Emerson, and Jesse Lennox vs. Danillo Villefort.

Stay tuned to MMAFrenzy.com for the latest UFC rumors and MMA news.

Josh Neer

A lightweight bout between Josh Neer and Kurt Pellegrino originally rumored to headline UFC Fight Night 19 on August 5th has been shifted to UFC 101, which is likely to take place on August 8th at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia.

Neer (25-7-1), a winner of four of his last five fights, most-recently defeated Mac Danzig at UFC Fight Night 17 in February.

Pellegrino (13-4) has rebounded from an April 2008 loss to Nate Diaz with back-to-back victories over Thiago Tavares and Rob Emerson.

For the latest UFC rumors check out the MMAFrenzy.com MMA rumors section.

Josh Neer

UFC Fight Night 19, a yet-unannounced Spike TV-broadcast UFC event, is expected to take place on August 5th in Las Vegas, according to MMA Junkie. Lightweights Josh Neer and Kurt Pellegrino are likely to square off on the event’s main card.

Neer (25-7-1), a winner of four of his last five fights, most-recently defeated Mac Danzig at UFC Fight Night 17 in February.

Pellegrino (13-4) rebounded from an April 2008 loss to Nate Diaz with back-to-back victories over Thiago Tavares and Rob Emerson.

Additional bouts for UFC Fight Night 19 haven’t yet been revealed, but MMAFrenzy.com will pass them along as they become available.

For the latest UFC rumors check out the MMAFrenzy.com MMA rumors section.

Joe Lauzon Submits Jeremy Stephens at UFC Fight Night 17

After a close first-round, lightweight Joe Lauzon forced late-replacement Jeremy Stephens to submit to an armbar late in the second-round of their headlining matchup, which capped off UFC Fight Night 17 on Saturday at the USF Sun Dome in Tampa, Florida.

Heavyweight prospect Cain Velasquez, veteran Josh Neer, and knockout artist Anthony Johnson also picked up main card victories.

UFC FIGHT NIGHT 17 RESULTS

• Joe Lauzon def. Jeremy Stephens via submission (armbar) — Round 2, 4:43
• Cain Velasquez def. Denis Stojnic via TKO (strikes) — Round 2, 2:34
• Josh Neer def. Mac Danzig via submission (triangle choke) — Round 2, 3:36
• Anthony Johnson def. Luigi Fioravanti via TKO (strikes) — Round 1, 4:39
• Kurt Pellegrino def. Rob Emerson via submission (rear-naked choke) — Round 2, 3:14
• Dan Miller def. Jake Rosholt via submission (guillotine choke) — Round 1, 1:03
• Matt Veach def. Matt Grice via TKO (strikes) — Round 1, 4:34
• Gleison Tibau def. Rich Clementi via submission (guillotine choke) — Round 1, 4:35
• Nick Catone def. Derek Downey via submission (keylock) — Round 2, 1:15
• Matthew Riddle def. Steve Bruno via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)