Francisco Rivera replaces Azamat Gashimov, faces Alex Soto at UFC on FUEL TV 3
Onetime UFC vet Francisco Rivera (7-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) has been given a second life in the octagon.
Rivera replaces Azamat Gashimov and now faces Alex Soto (6-1-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) at this month's UFC on FUEL TV 3 event.
MMAjunkie.com (
www.mmajunkie.com) today confirmed the switch, which was first reported by Sherdog.com.
The reason for Gashimov's removal wasn't immediately clear, and UFC officials have yet to make an official announcment.
Featuring a featherweight headliner between Dustin Poirier and Chan Sung Jung, UFC on FUEL TV 3 takes place May 15 at Patriot Center in Fairfax, Va. The evening's main card airs on FUEL TV, and prelims are expected to stream on Facebook.
Rivera first fought under the Zuffa banner at WEC 52, where he suffered a TKO loss to Erik Koch. He then transitioned to the UFC, where a third-round submission loss to Reuben Duran led to Rivera's release from the promotion.
Rivera has since fought twice under the Tachi Palace Fights banner, earning a pair of knockout wins in just 115 seconds of cage time. He'll now get another shot at an octagon win, albeit with just two weeks of notice.
Meanwhile, Soto also looks for his first UFC win after falling short in his octagon debut. Soto served as an injury replacement and suffered a knockout loss to Michael McDonald at UFC 139 in his promotional debut. Before the loss, the U.S. Navy dolphin trainer racked up a 6-0-1 record in California and Mexico.
