A ruptured ACL in his right knee will keep Hermes Franca from competing in the main event against Joe Lauzon in next month’s UFC Fight Night 17 event.

Franca personally made the announcement online on TheUnderground Forum. The forum thread is actually worth a look as Lauzon and Franca exchange some words (Lauzon is a long-time Underground Forum member and frequent poster).

Hermes Franca last fought at UFC 90 where he defeated Marcus Aurleio via unanimous deicision. Prior to that, Franca had dropped two straight decisions: a title shot against Sean Sherk at UFC 73 and a tough fight against Frankie Edgar at UFC Fight Night 14.

Joe Lauzon last fought at UFC Fight Night 15 where he defeated Kyle Bradley via TKO in the second round. Lauzon is currently 4-1 in the UFC with his only loss coming to Kenny Florian at UFC Fight Night 13.

The Franca vs. Lauzon fight was scheduled to be the main event on the February 7th fight card in Tampa, FL. The UFC has not yet named a replacement for Franca or announced whether or not the fight between Clay Guida and Mac Danzig will be bumped to the main event.

** UPDATE **

Reports are now arising that Jeremy Stephens will be replacing Hermes Franca and will fight Joe Lauzon at UFC Fight Night 17. More word when the news becomes official.