UFC Contract Winner Makes Quick Turnaround to Save Fight on Saturdays UFC Card
This Saturday's UFC Fight Night card underwent a personnel swap just a couple of days out from the event.
Following a lengthy road trip, the UFC returns home to the Meta APEX this weekend for UFC Vegas 121, which is the promotion's first event in Las Vegas in nearly two months.
The card is headlined by a men's bantamweight matchup between Raul Rosas Jr. and Raoni Barcelos, and women's bantamweight fighters will also be in action in the co-main event when Norma Dumont takes on Ailn Prez.
Mickey Gall Pulled From UFC Vegas 121 During Fight Week
UFC Vegas 121 was also supposed feature a middleweight bout between Sedriques Dumas and Mickey Gall, who was set to make his return to the Octagon for the first time in nearly two years.
Unfortunately, Gall was pulled from the matchup just two days out from the event and told fans that the UFC contacted him after something came up in his pre-fight medical evaluation.
The 34-year-old has been on the UFC roster for more than 10 years but has only competed 13 times, and the matchup with Dumas would have presented Gall with the chance to try and snap a four-fight skid that's brought his professional MMA record to an even 7-7.
DWCS Contract Winner Luis Hernandez Makes Quick Turnaround for UFC Debut
With Gall off the card, the UFC acted quickly to book recent Dana White's Contender Series contract winner Luis Hernandez as Dumas' new opponent at UFC Vegas 121.
Boasting a perfect 8-0 record, Hernandez has finished every opponent he's faced since making his professional MMA debut in 2021.
Following a second-round submission against Mules Hunsinger at Tuff-N-Uff 145 in June of last year, "The Stache" had a viral altercation with current UFC Middleweight Champion Sean Strickland, who was in attendance at the event to support his teammate Hunsinger.
The 30-year-old collected one more win before he was booked to fight Hugo Guillon on Week 6 of DWCS, where he escaped a near-submission himself before rallying to finish Guillon with a rear naked choke in the second round.
Sedriques Dumas Enters UFC Vegas 121 on Three-Fight Skid
Hernandez's short-notice UFC debut comes less than two weeks after his contract-winning performance against Guillon, and he'll be facing another former DWCS contract winner in Dumas on Saturday night.
Dumas extended his professional MMA record to 7-0 with a 47-second submission on DWCS in 2022 but has experienced mixed results in the UFC, with his last win coming against Denis Tiuliulin more than two years ago.
"The Reaper" is currently on a three-fight streak of stoppage losses that was only broken up by a 51-second No Contest against Zach Reese in September of last year, a run that Dumas will attempt to end when he welcomes Hernandez to the UFC tomorrow night.
UFC Vegas 121 Fight Card
Main Event: Raul Rosas Jr. vs. Raoni Barelos
Co-Main Event: Norma Dumont vs. Ailn Prez
Sedriques Dumas vs. Luis Hernandez
Ilambek Akylbek vs. Mahammadli Osmanli
Valesca Machado vs. Melissa Amaya
Rinya Nakamura vs. Brady Hisetand
Rodolfo Viera vs. Robert Bryczek
Rodolfo Bellato vs. Christian Edwards
Elves Brener vs. Josiah Harrell
Montel Jackson vs. Ricky Simn
John Castaeda vs. Alatengheili
Yazmin Jauregui vs. Vanessa Demopoulos
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/fannation/mma as UFC Contract Winner Makes Quick Turnaround to Save Fight on Saturday's UFC Card.