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A day after Pedro Munhoz was forced to bow out of his scheduled Bantamweight bout against Frankie Edgar, which was set to go down at the upcoming UFC on ESPN 13 event on July 15, 2020 in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has made a late addition to the card.
According to MMA Fighting, Jimmie Rivera and Cody Stamann will throw down in a Featherweight matchup at the “Fight Island” event. While the two men normally compete at 135 pounds, the move up to 145 pounds is an obvious one given the short amount of notice each combatant was given. The bout has yet to be made official by the promotion, as they still likely have to wait for the results of their respective COVID-19 tests.
Remember back in the day when failed weight cuts or a last-minute injury was all we had to worry about potentially scrapping a bout? Those were the days.
Rivera is currently on a two-fight losing streak and has lost three of his last four fights inside the Octagon; drastic difference from his remarkable 20 fight win streak he enjoyed from 2009 all the way to 2017 before his woes began.
Stamann, meanwhile, has been on a tear as of late winning five of his first seven outings for UFC, with his lone loss coming to top contender, Aljamain Sterling, and fighting to a draw against Song Yadong. In his last contest, Stamman defeated Brian Kelleher at UFC 250. It was an emotional win for “Mr. Wonderful,” as his younger brother had passed away just 10 days prior.
The event is set to be headlined by an intriguing Featherweight showdown featuring two of the fastest-rising contenders in the division, as Dan Ige puts his six-fight winning streak on the line against Calvin Kattar.
To see the latest “Kattar vs Ige” lineup click here.