My UFC career just keeps getting more
interesting every fight lol— Brok Weaver UFC (@BWeaverufc)
September 10, 2020
Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on
your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the
ESPN app. The upcoming
Ultimate Fighting Championship card this weekend has
experienced a few sudden changes to its lineup. On Wednesday night, Brok Weaver
(15-5) posted on Twitter
that his opponent has changed and that he will no longer be meeting
Frank
Camacho. BJPenn.com
reported on Thursday morning that in Camacho’s stead – who is
withdrawing due to a positive COVID-19 test, per
MMA Fighting – will be Jalin
Turner (9-5), who saw a matchup fall through on fight day last
week when Thiago
Moises tested positive for COVID-19. The two will be squaring
off at a 165-pound catchweight at
UFC Fight Night 177, which takes place on Sept. 12 at the UFC
Apex in Las Vegas.
Weaver is looking to bounce back from his first defeat in nearly
four years when he takes on Turner. In May, Weaver faced Roosevelt
Roberts and was tapped out with a rear-naked choke in the
second frame. The setback was one more bump on an unusual run in
his last several bouts. In two of his last three wins, Weaver has
gotten his hand raised thanks to a disqualification. In the first
against James
Freeman in the Island Fights promotion, Weaver had an
arm-triangle choke locked up and Freeman’s corner leapt into the
cage to intervene. In his second, which was his first victory
inside the Octagon, Rodrigo
Vargas illegally kneed him in the head to force the
stoppage.
Turner will not be receiving a long layoff after his recent bout
cancellation at UFC Fight Night 176, and the California native will
be trying to keep his 100 percent finish streak intact. Alternating
wins and losses since making his debut after a contract-winning
performance on Dana White’s Contender Series, Turner drew the
unenviable opponent of Vicente
Luque in his UFC debut. That knockout loss to Luque, along with
a decision defeat to fellow UFC Fight Night 177 competitor Matt
Frevola, are mixed in among two knockout victories over a pair
of Aussies in Callan
Potter and Joshua
Culibao. In the last, Turner became the first man to defeat the
surging Culibao, doing so in February.
In addition to this replacement opponent, a new fight has been
added to the card. At heavyweight, Alexander
Romanov (11-0) will be re-booked after his own match was
scrapped the day of UFC Fight Night 176 the previous week. His UFC
debut will be against another debutant, in the form of ex-Rizin
Fighting Federation star Roque
Martinez (15-5-2). The promotion placed the heavyweight bout on
its event page on UFCStats.
Romanov was scheduled to face Marcos
Rogerio de Lima one week prior, but the Brazilian tested
positive for COVID-19 so the match was scrapped hours before it was
set to go down. The Moldovan nicknamed “King Kong” is riding a
perfect record with a 100 percent stoppage rate, with nine finishes
in the opening frame.
Martinez will be making his first walk to the Octagon on the heels
of a pair of knockouts in Rizin and Deep. His most
recent performance a soccer kick knockout of Hideki
Sekine in February, at the time Martinez scored the fifth
triumph via soccer kicks in Rizin history. Each of the U.S.
Territory of Guam resident’s last five victories have come within
two rounds.
UFC Fight Night 177 goes down at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Sept.
12, and it will be headlined by a strawweight contest between
Michelle
Waterson and Angela
Hill. Drawing the co-main assignment is a lightweight battle
between the upset-minded Khama
Worthy and the unbeaten Ottman
Azaitar.
