Cameron
Smotherman will replace the injured Charles
Jourdain and face Ricky Simon
at UFC
Atlanta on Saturday.
The Las Vegas-based promotion announced the new bantamweight booking on Tuesday. UFC
Atlanta — also known as UFC on ESPN 69 — takes place at State Farm
Arena and is headlined by a welterweight duel pitting Kamaru
Usman against Joaquin
Buckley. The nature of Jourdain’s injury was not revealed.
Simon vs. Smotherman is slated for the preliminary card, which airs
on ESPN+ at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT. The main card will be broadcast on
ESPN and ESPN+ at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT.
Smotherman has split his first two Octagon appearances. “The
Baby-Faced Killer” took a three-round verdict over Jake Hadley
in his promotional debut at UFC Fight Night 245 last October before
dropping a unanimous decision to Serhiy
Sidey at UFC Des Moines on May 3. Smotherman has compiled a
12-5 career mark while competing primarily for the Fury FC
organization.
The 32-year-old Simon snapped a three-bout skid in his most recent
outing, when he scored a first-round knockout of Javid
Basharat at UFC Seattle on Feb. 22. The American Top Team
Portland representative owns notable triumphs over the likes of
Merab
Dvalishvili, Montel
Jackson, Ray Borg and
Raphael
Assuncao.