Jimmie Rivera announces he will not fight at UFC Phoenix
Following the injury of Bryan Caraway, Jimmie Rivera will not take on a short notice opponent for next Sunday’s UFC event in Phoenix, AZ.
The UFC bantamweight rising star Jimmie Rivera will not be fighting next weekend in Phoenix according to the fighter’s twitter. Rivera, who was originally set to fight Bryan Caraway on the main card of this UFC Fight Night event.
Unfortunately, Caraway was forced to withdraw from the fight following an undisclosed injury. The UFC was looking to replace Caraway and allow Rivera to stay on the card. Today Rivera took to twitter to announce that he will not be taking a short notice fight and in turn, will not be a part of this event.
There were reports that UFC unranked bantamweight Marlon Vera would serve as a last-minute replacement for Caraway. Vera (8-3-1) is coming off of a unanimous decision win over Ning Guangyou at UFC Fight Night in Melbourne in November. The UFC even put the match up on the official website. Now Rivera has announced that is no longer the case and has decided to be removed from the card. There is no official word yet from the UFC on this matter.
Jimmie Rivera (20-1) is currently ranked sixth in the bantamweight division. He has won four straight fights since coming to the UFC in 2015. His most recent win was over Urijah Faber at UFC 203 in Cleveland, OH. Rivera has been one of the most active fighters in the division over the past two years. He has been able to work his way to the top of the official rankings and is now seeking top opponents.
UFC Fight Night in Phoenix in headlined by the return of former UFC champion BJ Penn vs. Yair Rodriguez. This event can be seen on FS1, with the early prelims on UFC Fight Pass.
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