Indiana fighter Steve Lopez to meet Jim Miller at UFC 103

Steve Lopez, who fights for the South Bend-based Bulldog Fight Team, will step up to the big time next month.

According to sources close to Lopez's camp, the fighter, who has toggled between welterweight and lightweight in his career, will take on Jim Miller at UFC 103 in Dallas on Sept. 19 in a lightweight bout. He'll be stepping in for Thiago Tavares, who pulled out of the fight card with an injury. MMA Junkie is also reporting that the fight will take place.

Lopez (12-1) has fought mostly for regional promotions in the Midwest, including the Michiana Fight League and Heartland Ground and Pound out of the South Bend area and Madtown Throwdown in Madison, Wis. His lone loss was a split decision setback to Billy Stamp at a Madtown Throwdown event last year. Eight of Lopez's 12 career wins have come by submission.

Miller (14-2) is 3-1 in the UFC and is coming off a win over "Ultimate Fighter" winner Mac Danzig just last month at UFC 100. He also owns UFC wins over David Baron and Matt Wiman. He lost a unanimous decision to Gray Maynard at UFC 96 in Columbus in March. Miller wrestled collegiately at Virginia Tech.

Lopez wrestled at South Bend Washington, including at the Merrillville Semi-State during the 2001-02 campaign, at 125 pounds. In the state championship meet in Indianapolis, he advanced to the quarterfinals before losing to Aaron Scott of Evansville Mater Dei. He finished the meet in eighth place, but with a 40-8 record for the year; the 125-pound championship was won by Hector Mendez of E.C. Central. He finished his prep career with 130 victories. Lopez stayed close to home and wrestled collegiately at Bethel College in Mishawaka.

The Lopez-Miller fight will be on the preliminary card of UFC 103, but a report on the Orange County Register's MMA blog on Thursday said that the preliminary bouts for UFC 103 will be shown for free, live on Spike TV leading into the pay-per-view main card, which is available for purchase for $44.95. If that proves to be the case, then fans in the Midwest will be able to watch Lopez's UFC debut on the cable network.

UFC 103 is headlined by a main event of former middleweight champion Rich Franklin against former UFC star Vitor Belfort, who is returning to the promotion for the first time in five years.

Also on the main card are: Junior Dos Santos vs. Mirko Filipovic; Martin Kampmann vs. Mike Swick; Josh Koscheck vs. Frank Trigg, who returns to the UFC, as well, after four years outside the company; and Hermes Franca vs. Tyson Griffin.