As promised, the UFC announced today that fast rising heavyweight contender Cheick Kongo will replace Heath Herring against highly touted undefeated prospect Cain Velasquez at UFC 99. Herring withdrew from the bout due to an illness which kept the tough veteran out of training.

Kongo is currently is the midst of a three-fight win streak with his most recent victory coming over Antoni Hardonk at last month's UFC 97. Kongo now trains at Wolfslair Academy in England alongside UFC fighters Paul Kelly, Michael Bisping, and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and has won 5 of his last 6 bouts including a dominant win over Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic. His only loss during that span came, ironically, to Herring at UFC 82. Kongo appears to be one or two wins away from a title shot as mentioned previously by UFC president Dana White.

American Kickboxing Academy product, Cain Velasquez, will be looking to pick up his fourth straight win inside the octagon but will have to do so while facing the most difficult opponent so far in his young career in Kongo. Velasquez is coming off a TKO win over Denis Stojnic at UFC Fight Night 17 in February and he earned "Knockout of the Night" honors for his performance.

UFC 99 takes place on June 13 from the Lanxess Arena in Cologne, Germany. The event's headliner is a 195-pound catchweight bout between former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin and former Pride superstar Wanderlei Silva. Other matchups on the card include Ben Saunders vs. Mike Swick, Marcus Davis vs. Dan Hardy and Spencer Fisher vs. Caol Uno.