Injuries continue to shake up the UFC’s upcoming schedule, and a few more changes were revealed this week via the UFC and other reports.
Let’s take this in chronological order to catch up. Next week’s Ultimate Fighter 22 Finale event was set to feature a bout between Justin Scoggins and Joby Sanchez, but an unfortunate injury to Scoggins has brought Geane Herrera into the event. Next up, MMAJunkie.com reported late Thursday that Germaine de Randamie is out of a fight with Sarah Kaufman on the UFC on Fox 17 card, while the UFC also announced that Scott Holtzman has replaced Erik Koch against Drew Dober at UFC 195.
The 23-year-old Scoggins has impressed for much of his run thus far, and most recently halted a two fight losing skid to defeat Josh Sampo in May. Unfortunately, his injury keeps him from following up on that. Sanchez, who picked up his first UFC win in January of this year, now meets Herrera, who hopes to pick up his after a loss to Ray Borg in his UFC debut in August. That fight will come to the prelims of the TUF 22 Finale, which is headlined by Frankie Edgar vs. Chad Mendes next week on FS1.
Kaufman, the former Strikeforce Women’s Bantamweight Champion, is in need of a new opponent with the loss of Randamie. Unfortunately, the UFC on Fox 17 card takes place in just over two weeks, and the UFC may not be able to find a suitable replacement in time. That event will be headlined by Rafael dos Anjos vs. Donald Cerrone for the UFC Lightweight Championship on Dec. 19.
The oft-injured Koch hasn’t fought since May of 2014, and that layoff has been prolonged due to this latest injury. The undefeated Holtzman makes his second UFC appearance after a debut win over Anthony Christodoulou in August, and he’ll try to send Dober out of the UFC with what could be his fourth loss in five UFC appearances. The UFC 195 card on Jan. 2 airs live on pay-per-view, headlined by the UFC Welterweight Championship bout between Robbie Lawler and Carlos Condit.
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