An injury to Jorge Lopez (11-2) has forced the UFC sophomore fighter off this weekends UFC 143: Diaz vs. Condit card.
Matt ‘Deep Waters’ Riddle (5-3), Lopez original opponent, will now meet promotion newcomer Henry Martinez (8-1) at the Las Vegas event.
News of the change was announced by promotion officials on Monday via Twitter (@ufc).
– Confirmed: @HenryMartinez83 stepping in to face Matt @RiddleTUF7 at UFC 143; @JorgeLopezUFC injured
UFC 143 is scheduled to take place this Saturday (February 4, 2012) at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. The bout between Riddle and Martinez will take place on the FX televised portion of the preliminary card.
Riddle will look to stave off a pink slip having lost his last two fights in the Octagon. He was last in action in September at UFN 25, losing to Lance Benoist via unanimous decision in a bout that saw both men earn the “Fight of the Night” bonus. The other loss was to Sean Pierson at UFC 124 in December 2010, which was another decision loss.
Martinez is a member of the Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts gym and competed two weekends ago on Jan. 21 in the co-main event of the Jackson’s MMA Series 7 show. Martinez would go on to win by second round submission, winning his fourth straight, all of which came via stoppage.