After dropping his UFC debut to Junior dos Santos in February, Struve (18-3) has rebounded with back-to-back wins inside the Octagon over Denis Stojnic and Chase Gormley.

Buentello (24-10) returns to the UFC after going 3-1 in Strikforce and most-recently earning wins in Affliction over Gary Goodridge and Kirill Sidelnikov.

UFC 107, which takes place at the FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tennessee, is headlined by lightweight champ BJ Penn vs. Diego Sanchez and also features Cheick Kongo vs. Frank Mir and Kenny Florian vs. Clay Guida.

Pictured: Stefan Struve

Duffee confirmed the withdrawal on Tuesday with Sherdog, which also spoke to Buentello, who says Stefan Struve and Mike Russow have been proposed as potential opponents for the main card fight.

While the recently-reported rematch between Jon Fitch and Thiago Alves has yet to be confirmed for the pay-per-view event, a heavyweight showdown between veteran Paul Buentello and prospect Todd Duffee was announced for the UFC 107 main card.

The UFC 107 fight card now includes:

MAIN CARD

• B.J. Penn (c) vs. Diego Sanchez
  UFC Lightweight Championship
• Cheick Kongo vs. Frank Mir
• Thiago Alves vs. Jon Fitch
• Kenny Florian vs. Clay Guida
• Paul Buentello vs. Todd Duffee

PRELIMINARY CARD

• Alan Belcher vs. Wilson Gouveia
• Shane Nelson vs. Matt Wiman
• Ricardo Funch vs. Johny Hendricks
• Lucio Linhares vs. Rousimar Palhares
• Edgar Garcia vs. DaMarques Johnson
• Kevin Burns vs. T.J. Grant

Stay tuned to MMAFrenzy.com for complete UFC 107 coverage.

Pictured: Shane Nelson

According to MMAjunkie, both fighters have agreed to the bout and official agreements are expected to be finalized shortly.

After compiling a 4-0 record, Duffee (5-0) remained undefeated in his UFC debut in August with a UFC record 7-second knockout of Tim Hague at UFC 102.

Buentello (24-10) returns to the UFC after going 5-1 while fighting for Strikeforce and Affliction after the leaving the UFC following a 3-1 stint with the UFC between 2005 and 2006. “The Headhunter” has won his last two fights over Gary Goodridge and Kirill Sidelnikov.

UFC 107 is headlined by lightweight champ BJ Penn vs. Diego Sanchez and also features Frank Mir vs. Cheick Kongo and Kenny Florian vs. Clay Guida.

For the latest UFC 107 news and UFC 107 rumors stay tuned to MMAFrenzy.com.

“He tested positive for a banned substance,” said Atencio. “The athletic commission will not reinstate his license.”

Atencio declined to reveal what substance Barnett tested positive for and went on to say that, although the main event is no longer intact, “at this point” the event is still expected to take place.

The pay-per-view and HDNet-televised card takes place next Saturday at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California and also features Gegard Mousasi vs. Renato “Babalu” Sobral, Vitor Belfort vs. Jorge Santiago, and Paul Buentello vs. Gilbert Yvel.

Atencio declined to comment on rumored replacements for Barnett, saying “Just look for updates. I’m working on getting the best replacement possible.”

Vitor Belfort, Bobby Lashley, Brett Rogers, and Ricardo Arona are the four opponents being considered by Affliciton as opponents for Fedor, according to Fanhouse.

[Pictured: Josh Barnett and Fedor Emelianenko]

• The MMAFrenzy.com rumors section has been completely updated. [MMAFrenzy.com/rumors]
• UFC fighters Rousimar Palhares and Thiago Tavares are likely to return in the fall from injuries. [MMAjunkie]
• With just one fight remaining on his current contract, Rich Franklin is ready to renegotiate with the UFC before his next fight. [MMAjunkie]
• Roger Gracie will make his Strikeforce debut against an opponent to-be-named at Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg on August 15.
• Featherweight contender Wagnney Fabiano will fight at WEC 43 on September 2 in Youngstown, Ohio. An opponent has not yet been set. [MMAjunkie]
• Bobby Lashley will next fight in September. [MMA Fanhouse]
• Gilbert Yvel vs. Paul Buentello has officially been added to the fight card for Affliction: Trilogy.
• Heavyweight veteran Jeff Monson has signed with Ohio-based NAAFS and will debut against Tony Sylvester at Rock N Rumble III at the Nautica Pavilion in Cleveland.
• A timetable for UFC heavyweight Heath Herring’s return has not yet been set. [MMAjunkie]
• Middleweight Rob Kimmons has signed a new four-fight contract with the UFC. [MMAjunkie]
• Mark Hominick vs. Deividas Taurosevicius and LC Davis vs. Javier Vazquez have been booked for the HDNet-televised “Affliction: Trilogy” preliminary card
• Weigh-ins for UFC 100 will take place on Friday, July 10 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, the same venue which will host the July 11 pay-per-view event. (Note: MMAFrenzy.com will be providing a live stream of the weigh-ins)
• WEC lightweight contender and former champion Rob McCullough is likely to return in the “late fall” [MMAjunkie]
• Diego Sanchez will get the next lightweight title shot against the winner of the August 8 matchup between BJ Penn and Kenny Florian. [Yahoo! Sports]
• Ticket sales for UFC 101 on August 8 at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia have surpassed 14,000 for a Pennsylviania record-breaking $3+ million live gate. [MMAjunkie]
• Strikeforce will hold a press conference for the promotion’s August 15 matchup between Gina Carano and Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos on July 14 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
• Luiz Cane wants to fight Rich Franklin. [MMAjunkie]
• UFC heavyweight Antoni Hardonk thwarts a robbery in LA. [Yahoo! Sports]

[Pictured: Rich Franklin]

Note: Items without bracketed-links ([]) have either been officially announced or confirmed by MMAFrenzy.com

Affliction vice president Tom Atencio confirmed the news with Fanhouse on Monday, saying “It’s his second (loss) in a row, and I don’t want to take a chance on anything. The fight is less than 60 days away.”

Sylvia (24-6), who previously suffered a first-round submission loss to top-ranked heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko last July, weighed in at 310 pounds for his bout against Mercer and would have needed to shed 45-pounds in less than two months to make the 265-pound heavyweight limit.

Sylvia’s opponent, Paul Buentello, will remain on the Affliction: Trilogy card, where he’s likely to meet the winner of a June 27th matchup between Gilbert Yvel and Pedro Rizzo.

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

[Pictured: A 310-pound Tim Sylvia (courtesy of Sherdog)]

Though no other matchups were confirmed, Gegard Mousasi, Ben Rothwell, Renato “Babalu” Sobral, Tim Sylvia, Mark Hominick, Dan Lauzon, Chris Horodecki, and Paul Buentello will all be in action at the event, according to the card’s official poster (pictured at right).

Contrary to previous speculation, “Trilogy” won’t be Affliction’s last event, according to Affliction COO Michael D. Cohen, who revealed to MMA Fanhouse that a fourth event is being planned for late-2009 on the east coast.

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

Rogers, who was on the short list of future opponents for Kimbo Slice prior to his 14-second loss to Seth Petruzelli earlier this month, holds an undefeated 7-0 record, including a 3-0 mark in EliteXC. He has yet to have a fight leave the first round, stopping all seven of his opponents with strikes in the opening frame. After knocking off Ralph Kelly and James Thompson in his first two EliteXC appearances, Rogers TKO’d Jon Murphy in the first round in his most recent bout at EliteXC “Primetime” in May.

Buentello, a UFC veteran, won four-straights bouts, including his final UFC victory over Gilbert Aldana, before losing to Alistair Overeem at a Noveber Strikeforce event. He bounced back at Affliction “Banned” in July, defeating Gary Goodridge via unanimous decision.

The matchup joins Robbie Lawler (c) vs. Joe Villasenor for the EliteXC middleweight title, Eddie Alvarez vs. Nick Diaz for the vacant EliteXC lightweight title, Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante vs. TBD, Hector Lombard vs. Scott Smith, and Kaitlin Young vs. Sarah Kaufman on the “A Night of Champions” lineup.

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

Five preliminary “Day of Reckoning” bouts will air live on HDNet while six main card fights, including the heavyweight main event featuring former UFC heavyweight champions Andrei Arlovski and Josh Barnett, will air live on pay-per-view.

The Affliction “Day of Reckoning” fight card features:

MAIN CARD

• Josh Barnett vs. Andrei Arlovski
• Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Vladimir Matyushenko
• Matt Lindland vs. Trevor Prangley
• Chris Horodecki vs. Dan Lauzon
• Pedro Rizzo vs. Ben Rothwell
• Jay Hieron vs. Drew Fickett

PRELIMINARY CARD

• Roy Nelson vs. Paul Buentello
• Mike Pyle vs. Jason High
• Albert Rios vs. Antonio Duarte
• Jay White vs. Chase Gormley
• Brett Cooper vs. Patrick Speight