Yet another new name has been added to the rapidly changing UFC 98 card, with Krzysztof Soszynski added to the May 23 show to face Andre Gusmao. The addition of Soszynski is the result of an injury to Houston Alexander; Alexander was previously slated to face Gusmao but suffered a broken hand.
It's a little surprising to see Soszynski fighting again because he just appeared at UFC 97, beating Brian Stann by first-round submission at UFC 97 on April 17. It's rare for fighters to take fights after just five weeks off.
But as long as Soszynski is healthy (and he took hardly any damage in beating Stann), I think this is a great idea. Undercard fighters like Soszynski don't make a lot of money, so if the UFC can get him into the Octagon more frequently, that's good for his wallet. Fighters typically take a few months off between fights, but if Soszynski thinks five weeks off is enough, it's great that the UFC was able to find a spot for him.
In addition to Alexander, fighters who were once slated to appear at UFC 98 but will not be fighting include Frank Mir, Brock Lesnar, Rampage Jackson, Josh Koscheck, Yushin Okami and James Irvin. It's been disappointing to some fans that big fights like Mir vs. Lesnar and Rampage vs. Rashad Evans didn't pan out, but it's a testament to the overall depth of the UFC roster that the UFC 98 fight card as it stands right now is still a very good one:
Rashad Evans vs. Lyoto Machida
Matt Hughes vs. Matt Serra
Drew McFedries vs. Xavier Foupa-Pokam
Dan Miller vs. Chael Sonnen
Sean Sherk vs. Frank Edgar
Brock Larson vs. Chris Wilson
Pat Barry vs. Tim Hague
Phillipe Nover vs. Kyle Bradley
Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Andre Gusmao
Yoshiyuki Yoshida vs. Brandon Wolff
Dave Kaplan vs. George Roop