Marlon Vera replaces Bryan Caraway on UFC Phoenix card

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UFC bantamweight Marlon Vera will replace injured Bryan Caraway on the Jan. 15 UFC Fight Night card at Talking Stick Resort Arena.

Vera, 24, will fight sixth-ranked Jimmie Rivera.  A native of Ecuador, Vera has an 8-3-1 career record, with four first-round finishes and five wins by submission. He fought Nov. 26 in Melbourne, Australia, earning a unanimous decision over Ning Guangyou.

The card, which will be televised on FS1, is headlined by a featherweight bout between UFC Hall of Famer B.J. Penn against rising star Yair Rodriguez. Five Phoenix-area fighters will also compete on the card: John Moraga, Frankie Saenz, Augusto "Tanquinho" Mendes, Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger and Drakkar Klose.

Tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster.com or at the Talking Stick Resort Arena box office.