What was shaping up to be one of the UFC’s most-stacked events in recent history just took a hit. Instead of taking place at UFC 73 as we first reported, UFC lightweight champion Sean Sherk will make his first ever title defense at UFC 74 instead, according to MMAWeekly.com.

That championship bout, which will feature top contender Hermes Franca as an opponent, is currently rumored to take place on Aug. 24 — the same night that is expected to feature UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture vs. the winner of Mirko “Cro Cop� Filipovic vs. Gabriel Gonzaga, who meet at Saturday’s UFC 70 event in Manchester, England.

The Sherk-Franca fight was originally slated for the same UFC 73 fight card that currently boasts UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva vs. top contender Nate Marquardt — a main event UFCjunkie.com first reported back in February.

Instead, UFC 74 — not UFC 73 — is expected to feature two title defenses in one night — which has become a rarity due to the UFC’s recent influx of events.

Last week, UFCjunkie.com reported that new UFC welterweight champion Matt Serra would make his first title defense against former champ Matt Hughes. UFC officials stated that the event could happen as soon as August, but with two other title defenses already scheduled for the UFC 74 card, it would seem likely that the fight would be pushed back until September, possibly as a headliner for a UFC 75 event.