Former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski will step in and face Chase Sherman on short notice in a three-round fight at UFC on ESPN 22.

Sherman's original opponent, Parker Porter, was forced to pull out of the fight for undisclosed reasons.

A source close to the situation, who wished to remain anonymous because the promotion is yet to make an official announcement, confirmed the news to GIVEMESPORT. News of the fight was first reported by Fight Bananas.   

Arlovski (30-20, 2NC) last fought on February 20, a submission loss to heavyweight prospect Tom Aspinall on the main card of UFC Fight Night 185. The fight was stopped in the second round when Arlovski was forced to tap to a rear-naked choke. Prior to his most recent setback, "The Pitbull" was on a two-fight winning streak, with back-to-back victories over Philipe Lins and Tanner Boser.

After parting ways with the UFC in 2018, Sherman (15-6) certainly looked like he was trying to make up for lost time after stopping Ike Villanueva via a second-round TKO at UFC Fight Night 171 in May of last year. "The Vanilla Gorilla" is currently riding a four-fight win streak. This will mark his first fight in almost a year. 

UFC on ESPN 22 will be headlined by a middleweight bout between former UFC champion Robert Whittaker and former interim title challenger Kelvin Gastelum. The pair were originally scheduled to meet at UFC 234 in February 2019, but Whittaker was forced to withdraw due to a collapsed bowel and internal hernia that required surgery.