The Ultimate Fighting Championship announced an injury to lightweight T.J. Grant on Tuesday, naming former TUF 8 winner Efrain Escudero (18-3) as his replacement for UFC 141, and will now meet Jacob ‘Christmas’ Volkmann (13-2) at the Las Vegas show.
The promotion made the matchup official at UFC.com.
TJ Grant has been forced to withdraw from UFC 141 due to an injury, according to UFC president Dana White. Stepping in to replace him will be TUF 8 winner Efrain Escudero, making his return to the UFC against Jacob Volkmann. Both fighters have verbally agreed to the new match.
UFC 141 is scheduled to take place on December 30th at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The bout between Volkman and Escudero will take place on the prelim card, which is expected to stream on Facebook.
Escudero returns to the UFC after a years absence having been cut from the promotion after losing to Charles Oliveira at UFC Fight Night 22, in a bout that also saw the TUF 8 winner weigh-in at 159 lbs for the lightweight matchup. Since September of 2010, Escudero has put together a record of 5-1 most recently competing at Bellator 55 in October winning a first round submission victory over Cesar Avila at the Arizona event.
Volkmann has won his last four, having dropped two straight in his first two Octagon appearances. ‘Christmas’ was last on a UFC card in August, earning a unanimous decision over Danny Castillo at UFC on Versus 5. The other victories in this run include a split decision against Antonio McKee, a decision against Paul Kelly, and a split decision over Ronys Torres.
Tough to say who might pull the “W” out in this one, Volkmann uses his wrestling to grind out victories, while Escudero has won most of his fights by submission. I guess it will depend on Escudero’s takedown skills, and whether he can keep Volkmann to the mat long enough to sink a submission in. Volkmann by decision.