The UFC’s Boston bantamweight party is still looking strong as a replacement opponent for [autotag]Marlon Vera[/autotag] has been found.
At UFC 292, “Chito” Vera will now face [autotag]Pedro Munhoz[/autotag], after his original opponent, former two-division UFC champ Henry Cejudo, pulled out of the fight due to injury. Vera’s management, Iridium Sports Agency announced the signing of the bout Friday.
The event which takes place at TD Garden in Boston, already has a few other key matchups, including the headliner which is a title fight in the division between champ Aljamain Sterling and Sean O’Malley.
Along with Munhoz (20-7 MMA, 10-7 UFC) vs. Vera (22-8-1 MMA, 14-7 UFC) at bantamweight will be Rob Font vs. Song Yadong and Cody Garbrandt vs. Mario Bautista.
Munhoz, 36, will enter on the heels of a unanimous decision win over Chris Gutierrez at UFC on ESPN 44 in April. He will look to keep the momentum going after the win ended a rough stretch of results that included a pair of losses to former champions Jose Aldo and Dominick Cruz, and a no contest against Sean O’Malley due to an eye poke.
Vera, 30, saw a four-fight winning streak come to an end in his previous outing, a split decision loss to Cory Sandhagen at UFC on ESPN 43. Prior to the setback, he defeated Davey Grant, Frankie Edgar, Rob Font, and Dominick Cruz.
With the addition, the UFC 292 lineup now includes:
- Aljamain Sterling vs. Sean O’Malley
- Zhang Weili vs. Amanda Lemos
- Rob Font vs. Song Yadong
- Pedro Munhoz vs. Marlon Vera
- Brad Tavares vs. Chris Weidman
- Mario Bautista vs. Cody Garbrandt
- Gerald Meerschaert vs. Andre Petroski
- Maryna Moroz vs. Karine Silva
- Ian Machado Garry vs. Geoff Neal
- Andrea Lee vs. Natalia Silva
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 292.