The MMA injury bug is beginning to rear its head, but UFC is scrambling to stay ahead of it. With news that UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson was injured and his title defense against John Moraga in the main event of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 17 Finale was off, a replacement bout has already been booked.
Former WEC featherweight champion and now bantamweight, Urijah Faber will face perennial top contender Scott Jorgensen. UFC President Dana White made the news official via Twitter Tuesday evening.
Faber, 33, is coming off of a first-round submission victory over Ivan Menjivar at UFC 157 on Saturday. Prior to that bout, he lost to current UFC interim banatmweight champion Renan Barao for said title at UFC 149 in July. He is 11-5 in Zuffa-owned organizations and 27-6 in his professional MMA career.
Jorgensen, 30, most recently competed at UFC on FOX 5 where he defeated John Albert by first-round rear naked choke, earning Submission and Fight of the Night honors. Like Faber, Jorgensen holds decision losses to UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz and interim champion Renan Barao. He is 10-5 in Zuffa-owned organizations and 14-6 in his professional MMA career.
The TUF 17 Finale takes place April 13 at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nev. This marks the first time the UFC has held their finale for their famed reality series in a large-scale venue.