Roy Nelson now meets Dave "PeeWee" Herman, Jamie Varner returns as UFC 146 shakeups continue

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

The seemingly never-ending shakeup to UFC 146 continues, as two more changes have been made to the May 26 event. Injuries to Gabriel Gonzaga and Evan Dunham have removed them from the card, once again leaving Roy Nelson without an opponent and opening the door for a familiar face to return to Zuffa's lightweight division.

In for Gonzaga against Nelson is Dave "PeeWee" Herman, who will attempt to bounce back from a loss to Stefan Struve at UFC on Fuel 2 in February.

Stepping in for the injured Dunham is former WEC Champion Jamie Varner, making his return to the UFC for the first time in five years.

Varner's last UFC appearance came at UFC 68 in 2007; when the WEC was folded into the UFC in 2011, Varner was not brought in after a four fight winless streak. However, he's won three of four fights since his Zuffa release, and now gets a big opportunity at a return against a really tough Edson Barboza.

Penick's Analysis: The UFC can't catch a break with this card, and yet they'll still have an all-heavyweight main. It's good to see Varner get an opportunity at a UFC run, as he should have been brought in out of the WEC, regardless of that stretch. He had been a long-tenured member of that roster, and though he lost three of four fights (and should have gotten a win in his draw against Kamal Shalorus), they were to really tough fighters. Barboza's probably going to be too much for him in this return, but it's still good to see them give him a chance. As for Herman-Nelson, it's still disappointing that they didn't put Nelson vs. Mark Hunt together after all the shakeups.

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