Cody McKenzie out of UFC 130 with injury, Gleison Tibau in against Bart Palaszewski

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

UFC lightweight Cody McKenzie has suffered an injury in training and is out of his bout with Bart Palaszewski later this month at UFC 130, and stepping up to replace him on short notice is Gleison Tibau.

The UFC announced the change to the lineup late Thursday night.

Tibau hops right back into the cage after a decision win over Kurt Pellegrino in late March at UFC 128. That victory was a bounce back win from a loss to Jim Miller that brought a halt to a two-fight win streak for the Brazilian. This bout will be his 14th fight inside the Octagon.

Palaszewski makes his first appearance in the Octagon, but he's no stranger to Zuffa. Palaszewski appeared seven times in the UFC's former sister promotion World Extreme Cagefighting, compiling a 4-3 record, including three straight wins in 2009 and 2010, one of those being against Anthony Pettis, who would go on to become the final WEC Lightweight Champion. His final appearance in the WEC came on the final WEC event ever, where he lost a questionable split decision to Kamal Shalorus.

UFC 130 takes place from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on May 28, headlined by the Lightweight Championship rematch between Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard.

Penick's Analysis: This is a big step up for Palaszewski from McKenzie here. Tibau, despite a number of losses in the UFC, is a good and very dangerous lightweight that has faced a lot of very good competition in his time in the organization. It's too bad for McKenzie, as this would have been a fun and competitive fight for him, but Tibau is a great replacement on short notice for the event.

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