The Ultimate Fighter Season 12 winner Jonathon Brookins has been forced to withdraw from his lightweight bout with Jeremy Stephens at The Ultimate Fighter Season 13 Finale. This is being reported today by Sherdog.com.
Stepping in for Brookins will be former WEC talent Daniel Downes who has been beaten only once as a professional. Fighting out of the Wisconsin’s Roufusport camp, Downes lost in his WEC debut last June to Chris Horodecki. But “Danny Boy” rebounded with a unanimous decision win over Tiequan Zhang at WEC 53 in December.
The details and the extent of the Brookins’ injury were not disclosed. His last fight was in December of last year where he won a decision over Michael Johnson to claim the TUF 12 title.
Known for his punching power and his “dead ahead” approach, Jeremy Stephens has won three of his last four contests inside the Octagon. The 24-year-old “Lil Heathen” has faced some tough fighters in his young career. In May of 2010, he edged out fellow striker Sam Stout in a hard-fought tilt. Then, in September, he followed it up by putting on a great performance in a close-decision loss to top contender Melvin Guillard.
Stephens has had one fight this year, knocking out veteran Marcus Davis on New Years Day.
The Ultimate Fighter Season 13 Finale will take place on June 4th at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. It will headline a pivotal fight with major lightweight implications when contender Clay “The Carpenter” Guida takes on former WEC champion Anthony Pettis.
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