A bout between Chael Sonnen and Yoshihiro Akiyama was briefly reported but Sonnen plead guilty to federal charges of money laundering and had his contract placed on hold by the UFC . Nate Marquardt was then signed to compete against Akiyama . However , on March 12 , it was announced that Yoshihiro Akiyama had to pull out of his fight with Nate Marquardt due to the tragedy in Japan . Dana White then announced via Twitter that Dan Miller would be stepping up from the preliminary fights to replace Akiyama on the main card . Miller 's original opponent Nick Catone instead faced UFC newcomer Costas Philippou in a 195-pound catchweight bout
tragedy in Japan
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
UFC 128