A switch has occurred on the Bellator 197 preliminary card.

With Zach Freeman (9-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) unable to compete at the event, Derek Anderson (14-3 MMA, 5-3 BMMA) has agreed to step in and fight Zak Bucia (18-9 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) in a 165-pound catchweight affair. Bellator officials announced the change Friday night.

Bellator 197 takes place April 13 at The Family Arena in St. Charles, Mo. The main card airs on Paramount following prelims streamed on MMAjunkie.

Fighting as a replacement, Anderson will attempt to rebound from a unanimous decision loss to Derek Campos at Bellator 170 in January. Prior to that “The Barbaric” had won three of four fights, including notable wins over 155-pound contenders Saad Awad and Patricky Freire.

Anderson will attempt to get on track against Bucia, who will be going for his first win under the Bellator banner. “Crash” lost his promotional debut at Bellator 185 in October when he succumbed to the submission skills of jiu-jitsu ace Neiman Gracie.

The latest Bellator 197 card includes:

MAIN CARD (Paramount)

• Champ Brent Primus vs. Michael Chandler – for lightweight title
• A.J. McKee vs. Justin Lawrence
• Devon Brock vs. Kevin Ferguson Jr.
• Joaquin Buckley vs. Logan Storley

PRELIMINARY CARD (MMAjunkie)

• Rebecca Ruth vs. Juliana Velasquez
• Dominic Mazzotta vs. Josh Sampo
• Derek Anderson vs. Zak Bucia
• Jordan Downy vs. Jeff Crotty
• Adam Cella vs. Dewayne Diggs
• Joe Roye vs. Cort Wahle
• Justin Robbins vs. A.J. Siscoe
• Jordan Howard vs. Eric Ellington

For more on Bellator 197, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.