An injury to Brazilian prospect Johnny Eduardo (25-9) has forced the bantamweight fighter out of his upcoming UFC 139 bout. Stepping in on just over a weeks notice will be UFC newcomer Alex Soto (6-0-1), who will now face Michael ‘Mayday’ McDonald (13-1) on the California card.
UFC officials made the matchup official on Wednesday announcing the change at UFC.com.
UFC 139: Shogun vs. Hendo is scheduled to take place on Nov. 19 at HP Pavilion in San Jose, California. The bout will likely take place on the preliminary card.
McDonald is on a six-fight win streak, having made two Octagon appearances this past year. The former Tachi Palace Fights bantamweight champ earned a split decision over Chris Cariaso at UFC 130 in May, and earned a unanimous decision against Edwin Figueroa at UFN 24 in his UFC debut.
Soto is undefeated in seven-pro matches, having competed mostly in California and his native Mexico. His last bout did take him international, as he fought Seiji Akao to a draw at the DEEP 54 event in Tokyo, Japan last June. Soto is a Mexican immigrant who served in the US Army and is currently working for the US Navy training dolphins.