Gavin Tucker is getting a major step up in competition in March.
A replacement has been found to fight Dan Ige on March 13th.
Canadian featherweight standout Gavin Tucker has agreed to replace the injured Ryan Hall against Dan Ige at UFC Vegas 21. Hall is recovering from a torn hip flexor, and he indicated that he should be ready to go in April.
Tucker (13-1) is riding a three-fight winning streak since that rather gruesome one-sided defeat to Rick Glenn. The 34-year-old notched back-to-back rear-naked choke finishes of Seung Woo Choi and Justin Jaynes before his impressive and grueling decision victory over Billy Quarantillo at UFC 256 in December. Prior to accepting this matchup, he was reportedly set to fight Cub Swanson in May, but obviously that’s off the table for now.
Ige (14-3) had his six-fight winning run snapped by Calvin Kattar in a five-round decision last July. The Hawaiian had picked up notable victories over Edson Barboza, Mirsad Bektic, and Kevin Aguilar on his way into the top-10 of the UFC featherweight rankings. Currently he sits at #9, so this is very much a big opportunity for Tucker to state his case for being among the list of contenders.
UFC Vegas 21 is headlined by a welterweight bout between top contender Leon Edwards and short notice replacement and rising contender Belal Muhammad. The entire card will stream live on ESPN+.