Before he can even make his UFC debut, Tatsuya Kawajiri is already getting a new opponent.
According to the UFC’s official news Twitter account, Kawajiri will now face Sean Soriano:
With Dias injured, Tatsuwa Kawajiri @CRUSHER_MMA will now face Sean @SSorianoMMA at #UFCSingapore
— UFC News (@UFCNews) December 12, 2013
Kawajiri, 35, was originally set to face Hacran Dias at UFC Fight Night 34 in Singapore on January 4th. The former Shooto welterweight champion will not have competed at all in 2013, having last fought Michihiro Omigawa at Dream 18 on December 31, 2012. He holds a record of 32-7-2.
Soriano, 24, will be making his UFC debut when he faces Kawajiri. He holds an 8-0 professional record and last competed in May where he took a unanimous decision victory over Elvin Leon Brito.
The UFC also announced via the same Twitter account on Thursday an update to the UFC 171 fight card: Top prospect Alex Garcia will face Sean Spencer:
Dallas’ own 11-2 @seanspencer170 faces 11-1 @AlexGarciaMMA at UFC 171. http://t.co/cJmWPMRva6
— UFC News (@UFCNews) December 12, 2013
Garcia, 26, most recently fought in December at UFC Fight Night 33 where he stopped Ben Wall with strikes in the first round. He holds a record of 11-1.
Spencer, 26, is 11-1 in professional MMA and most recently fought at The Ultimate Fighter 18 Finale in November where he defeated Drew Dober by unanimous decision.
UFC 171 takes place on March 15 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, and is headlined by a light heavyweight title fight between Jon Jones and Glover Teixeira.