UFC welterweight Jake “The Juggernaut” Ellengerger (24-5) has agreed to step in on short notice, for an injured Brian Foster, and will now meet Canadian Sean Pierson (11-4) at the end of the month at UFC 129.
The news was announced by the promotion on UFC.com.
UFC 129: St-Pierre vs. Shields will take place on April 30 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario and will feature the biggest live audience for a UFC event in North America, with 55,000 seats sold for the event.
Ellenberger takes the fight with just over two weeks notice and was last in the octagon in February at UFC 126. At the Las Vegas event, the Nebraska fighter earned a split decision over Carlos Eduardo Rocha, winning his third straight bout improving his UFC record to 3-1. The other two victories were over John “Doomsday” Howard by TKO (doctor stoppage) at UFC on Versus 2 last August, and a TKO win over Mike Pyle at UFC 108 in January of last year.
Pierson will be fighting in front of his home town crowd when he steps in the octagon against Ellenberger, and carries a six fight win streak into the octagon. The Canadian fighter earned a unanimous decision win in his UFC debut over Matt Riddle at UFC 124 in December. Pierson has mainly fought for regional promotions within Canada over his 15 fight professional career.