Edwin Dewees vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira fight finalized today

by Dann Stupp - www.MMAjunkie.com on Jul 02, 2008 at 2:22 pm ET

Edwin Dewees (35-12) will, in fact, replace a suspended Vernon White and will fight Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (13-3) at the July 19 "Affliction: Banned" event at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.

Ken Pavia, Dewees' agent, told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that his client today received and signed a bout agreement for the fight.

MMAjunkie.com was the first to report that Affliction Vice President Tom Atencio was targeting the former UFC fighter and longtime veteran for the vacant slot.

However, the fight will now appear on the un-televised portion of the event, which airs on FSN before flipping over to pay per view. The Nogueira-White fight had been slated for the FSN portion of the card, but Affliction announced on Tuesday that a light heavyweight bout between Vitor Belfort and Terry Martin would instead get the slot.

Dewees earned a ticket onto the high-profile event after White was pulled from the card after testing positive for a banned diuretic after a May 31 Xtreme Fighting Association event in Las Vegas. White's hearing with the Nevada State Athletic Commission is set for July 9, according to Atencio, but he couldn't wait for that decision since the Affliction event takes place just 10 days later.

Dewees, a Lions Den fighter who spent two thirds of his career with the Arizona-based Rage in the Cage organization, will instead get the fight. Recently, after winning five of six fights, the 25-year-old fell into a four-fight losing skid. However, he rebounded in April for his most recent win: a first-round submission victory over Richard Blake at a NoLimit Fighting event.

Nogueira, the win brother of UFC interim heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, returned from a one-year layoff to defeat Todd Gouwenberg (via second-round TKO) at a February Hardcore Championship Fighting event. The 32-year-old spent most of his career in PRIDE before the organization's eventual demise.