Johny Hendricks vs. Carlos Condit Set as New UFC 158 Co-Main Event

Just minutes after the news broke that Rory MacDonald would be forced out of UFC 158 due to injury, the UFC has a new co-main event already set for their March 16 return to the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Johny Hendricks will now face Carlos Condit in a welterweight showdown as the new UFC 158 co-main event as confirmed by UFC officials to Bleacher Report on Monday night.

Johny Hendricks was originally set to face Jake Ellenberger on the highly anticipated card, but Ellenberger will now instead face a replacement opponent to be determined at a later date.

Johny Hendricks has made a quick rise up the ranks of the UFC's welterweight division with three big wins over top-10 opponents over the past year-and-a-half, flattening former title contender Jon Fitch in 12 seconds and following that up with a 46-second knockout over Martin Kampmann in November.

Now, Hendricks will draw the fighter who was just seconds away from defeating the UFC welterweight champ in his last fight.

Carlos Condit returns looking to bounce back from a loss to Georges St-Pierre after almost catching and finishing the champion in the third round of their title fight (also at the Bell Centre) in November. Condit blasted GSP with a head kick in the third round and appeared seconds away from victory, but the tough Canadian persevered and weathered the storm to battle back for the win.

Condit now has a great chance to jump right back in line for a title fight with a win over two-time NCAA wrestling champ Johny Hendricks.

The new Condit-Hendricks matchup will precede the UFC 158 headliner pitting champion Georges St-Pierre against Nick Diaz for the UFC welterweight title.

Damon Martin is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report