Sean Strickland’s participation on the UFC’s Oct. 31 card in Las Vegas was in doubt after his scheduled opponent withdrew. But now he has a replacement opponent and is ready to go.
Strickland (20-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) was all set to face Wellington Turman at UFC on ESPN+ 39, which takes place at the UFC Apex, but news of Turman’s positive COVID-19 test ruled the Brazilian out of the matchup. However, Welsh middleweight Jack Marshman has agreed to step in and will take on “Tarzan” in a 185-pound bout.
Strickland confirmed the rearranged bout by posting an unofficial fight poster featuring the pair, saying, “New opponent!!! Thank you for stepping up, can’t wait to share the octagon with you. My last opponent contracted covid 6 weeks out, I wish the best for you and your recovery. Sorry the fight couldn’t happen.”
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Sean Strickland (@strickland_mma) on Oct 16, 2020 at 2:25pm PDT
Marshman (23-9 MMA, 3-4 UFC) then shared the same pic to his Instagram page, posting, “31st of October Las Vegas lets go.”
Strickland is set to make his return to the cage for the first time since October 2018. The fight also marks his first fight at 185 pounds since his split-decision win against Luke Barnatt at UFC Fight Night 41 in May 2014. Since that fight, Strickland went 5-3 in the UFC’s welterweight division, and alternated wins and losses through his last four outings.
Now he’s moving back up to middleweight to face Welsh striker Marshman, whose last appearance ended in defeat via Edmen Shahbazyan’s first-round rear-naked choke at UFC 239.
With the booking change, the UFC on ESPN+ 39 lineup includes:
- Uriah Hall vs. Anderson Silva
- Dustin Jacoby vs. Justin Ledet
- Maurice Greene vs. Greg Hardy
- Amir Albazi vs. Raulian Paiva
- Cortney Casey vs. Priscila Cachoeira
- Chris Greutzemacher vs. Alexander Hernandez
- Aaron Phillips vs. Adrian Yanez
- Jack Marshman vs. Sean Strickland
- Krzysztof Jotko vs. Makhmud Muradov
- Andre Fili vs. Bryce Mitchell
- Miles Johns vs. Kevin Natividad
- Bobby Green vs. Thiago Moises
- Cole Williams vs. Jason Witt