UFC 292 Main Card Fighter Receives Late-Notice Replacement Opponent
Da'Mon Blackshear has stepped in to face Mario Bautista as a short-notice replacement for UFC 292 on August 19. The fight was first reported by journalist Cole Shelton on Twitter, August 15.
Blackshear last competed at UFC Vegas 78 on August 12 where he submitted Jose Johnson with a twister --- one of only three twister finishes in UFC history. This marks a seven day turnaround for "Da Monster", who was relatively unscathed in his Vegas performance.
VIDEO: Da'Mon Blackshear Scores Insanely Rare Submission at UFC Vegas 78
Bautista was originally scheduled to face ex-bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt, who withdrew due to an undisclosed injury. Blackshear is arguably a better step-up in competition from Bautista's earlier opponents, and the two bantamweights will likely be fighting for a ranking sometime soon.
With the update, UFC 292 now looks like this (bout order chronological, not confirmed):
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- Karine Silva vs. Maryna Moroz
- Andrea Lee vs. Natalia Silva
- Andre Petroski vs. Gerald Meerschaert
- Brad Katona vs. TBA
- Austin Hubbard vs. Kurt Holobaugh
- Gregory Rodrigues vs. Denis Tiuliulin
- Chris Weidman vs. Brad Tavares
- Marlon Vera vs. Henry Cejudo Pedro Munhoz
- Mario Bautista vs. Cody Garbrandt Da'Mon Blackshear
- Geoff Neal Neil Magny vs. Ian Machado Garry
- Weili Zhang vs. Amanda Lemos - Strawweight Title Fight
- Aljamain Sterling vs. Sean O'Malley - Bantamweight Title Fight
If Blackshear can ride the waves from his twister submission and beat Bautista convincingly, he'll certainly be a fighter on the lookout for any future UFC events.
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