MMANewsline has independently confirmed that John Phillips has been removed from his scheduled UFC on FOX 23 light heavyweight bout with Marcos Rogério de Lima.

The reason for Phillip’s removal remains unclear, however it was revealed that the UFC has been seeking a replacement to step in on short notice against de Lima at 205-pounds for the January 28 UFC on Fox: Shevchenko vs. Peña card.

Marcos Rogerio de Lima (MMA record 14-3) lost the last time he stepped into the octagon at UFC Fight Night 100, but holds a UFC record of 3-2 — each of the three wins coming by knockout or submission.

UFC on FOX 23 will be headlined by #1 ranked Women’s Bantamweight Valentina Shevchenko vs #2 ranked Julianna Pena, as they fight for the right to battle UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Amanda Nunes.

The Full UFC on FOX 23 Card:

Women’s Bantamweight Valentina Shevchenko vs. Julianna Peña

Welterweight Donald Cerrone vs. Jorge Masvidal

Heavyweight Andrei Arlovski vs. Francis Ngannou

Featherweight Alex Caceres vs. Jason Knight

Middleweight Nate Marquardt vs. Sam Alvey

Bantamweight Raphael Assuncao vs. Aljamain Sterling

Welterweight Li Jingliang vs. Bobby Nash

Light Heavyweight Luis Henrique da Silva vs. Jordan Johnson

Middleweight Alessio Di Chirico vs. Eric Spicely

Light Heavyweight Marcos Rogério de Lima vs. ???

Flyweight Alexandre Pantoja vs. Eric Shelton

Lightweight Jason Gonzalez vs. J.C. Cottrell