Officials with the Ultimate Fighting Championship have had to deal with another injury to an upcoming event as light heavyweight Ednaldo Oliveira (13-1-1) was forced off next months UFC on FX 6 due to injury.
Stepping in for the injured fighter will be promotion newcomer Eddie Mendez (7-0-1) who now takes on Canadian fighter Nick Penner (11-2) at the Australian event.
The announcement was made at UFC.com on Thursday evening.
Nick Penner’s light heavyweight bout also had to be reconfigured after his originally opponent, Ednaldo Oliveira, was injured. He’ll now face 7-1 promotional newcomer Eddie Mendez at the December 15 event.
Oliveira was reportedly set to face Krzysztof Soszynski at the event, but ‘The Polish Experiment’ had to withdraw for unknown reasons and replaced by Penner.
UFC on FX: Sotiropoulos vs. Pearson is expected to take place on December 15, 2012 at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre in Queensland, Australia. The FX televised event will air live in North America on Dec. 14th due to the time zone.
Mendez has won three straight and has yet to taste defeat in his pro-career. His last fight took place in May with a decision victory at a local event in California. Mendez has not seen much action in the last few years, with each win coming in a different year starting in 2010 till 2012. He has earned three (T)KO and one submission stoppage, while earning three decisions in his career.
Penner debuted with the UFC this past March at the other Australian show, UFC on FX 2, losing in the first round by TKO to Anthony Perosh. Penner was linked to a fight at UFC on FUEL TV 4 against Tom DeBlass but was forced out with an injury. Previous to the loss, Penner had been riding an eight fight win streak competing at local events in Alberta, Canada.