Mike Chiappetta • E-mail

Matt Hughes vs. Thiago Alves will main event London's UFC 85 event on June 7, the UFC confirmed.

The change was forced after Chuck Liddell had to pull out of his scheduled bout with Rashad Evans due to a torn hamstring.

“Obviously Chuck Liddell's injury was a big blow, but as always our incredible fighters step up to give fans the best possible replacement," said Dana White, UFC President.

Hughes is a two-time UFC welterweight champion with a 41-6 career mark, holding victories over Georges St. Pierre,  B.J. Penn and Sean Sherk among others in his career.

Last December, he was scheduled to fight Matt Serra in a long-awaited grudge match for the belt, but Serra was forced to pull out after a back injury and was replaced by St. Pierre, who won the interim title bout. St. Pierre went on to beat Serra last week to become undisputed champion in the division.

Hughes' first title reign lasted from November 2001 to January 2004 when he fell to Penn, a loss he later avenged.

He recaptured the title in October 2004 and held it until succumbing to St. Pierre via TKO in November 2006.

Alves has fought in the UFC since 2005, and holds a 13-3 career record with five straight wins, including victories over Chris Lytle and Karo Parisyan. While Jon Fitch is considered the No. 1 contender in the division, a win over Hughes could put Alves next in line after Fitch.

Evans, meanwhile, was bumped from the main event but will still perform in the card, now scheduled to take on James "Sandman" Irvin.

Irvin (14-4-1) will have a quick turnaround, having fought just three weeks ago in an eight-second KO over Houston Alexander. The undefeated Evans (16-0-1) is coming off a split decision victory over Michael Bisping last November.

The final newly added bout is the return of Michael "The Count" Bisping to his home country to take on Chris Leben.

Just last weekend, Bisping (15-1) made his UFC middleweight debut and scored a first-round TKO win over Charles McCarthy.

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