After losing his scheduled opponent for next week’s card, [autotag]Alan Patrick[/autotag] has a new one.
Patrick (15-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) will take on short-notice replacement [autotag]Bobby Green[/autotag] (26-10-1 MMA, 7-5-1 UFC) after [autotag]Rodrigo Vargas[/autotag] (11-4 MMA, 0-2 UFC) recently was removed from the lightweight fight. UFC officials announced the change Wednesday.
UFC on ESPN+ 35, headlined by Thiago Santos vs. Glover Teixeira in a key light heavyweight matchup, takes place Sept. 12 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card streams on ESPN+.
Green has back-to-back wins for the first time since an eight-fight winning streak in Strikeforce and the UFC from 2011-2014. After consecutive decision losses to Drakkar Klose and Franciso Trinaldo, Green has bounced back in the COVID-19 era with decision wins over Clay Guida in June and Lando Vannata a little more than a month ago. The Vannata win was a rematch from a split draw the two had at UFC 216 in 2017.
Patrick (15-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC), a training partner of Ronaldo Souza, has not competed since October 2018. Patrick was scheduled to fight Frank Camacho on April 25, but the event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He was then booked to fight Marc Diakiese on July 15, but withdrew for unknown reasons.
Vargas (11-4 MMA, 0-2 UFC) still was in search of his first UFC win. After losing a unanimous decision to Alex da Silva in August 2019, Vargas was disqualified due to an illegal knee in his second UFC outing against Brok Weaver. In 11 wins, Vargas has eight finishes. But now his quest for that first UFC victory is on hold.
With the addition, the Sept. 12 lineup includes:
- Thiago Santos vs. Glover Teixeira
- Angela Hill vs. Michelle Waterson
- Andrea Lee vs. Roxanne Modafferi
- Tyson Nam vs. Matt Schnell
- Bruno Silva vs. Tagir Ulanbekov
- Frank Camacho vs. Brok Weaver
- Kyle Nelson vs. Billy Quarantillo
- Bryan Barberena vs. Anthony Ivy
- Matt Frevola vs. Roosevelt Roberts
- Bobby Green vs. Alan Patrick
- John Allan vs. Ed Herman
- Justine Kish vs. Sabina Mazo
- Ottman Azaitar vs. Khama Worthy