Yesterday ESPN reported that Al Iaquinta chose not to fight Justin Gaethje in the main event of UFC Fight Night 135 from Lincoln Nebraska, on Aug. 25. Today UFC officially announces that James Vick will step in for Iaquinta to fight Gaethje.
BREAKING NEWS: @JamesVickMMA steps in to replace Iaquinta at #UFCLincoln against @Justin_Gaethje 🔥🔥🔥 https://t.co/jW5c2D52m7
— UFC News (@UFCNews) June 28, 2018
Vick was initially slated to meet Paul Felder at UFC Boise on July 14. That leaves Paul stun; it’s unclear if UFC will keep him on the card or not.
Vick (13-1) won four straight with three finishes and was last at UFC Austin back in February where he defeated Francisco Trinaldo via decision.
Former World Series of Fighting (WSOF) Gaethje has been coming off bitter finished by Dustin Poirier and Eddie Alvarez in his last two outings, though all three of his UFC performances awarded a Fight of the Night bonus. Before this losing streak, Gaethje won his first 18 professional contests.
Al Iaquinta who isn’t fighting Gaethje anymore, but criticised his career choices:
Def not happening
— Al Iaquinta🗽 (@ALIAQUINTA) June 27, 2018
https://twitter.com/ALIAQUINTA/status/1012152453788291073
They all backed out not me
— Al Iaquinta🗽 (@ALIAQUINTA) June 28, 2018
