Rob Font booked to fight replacement opponent at UFC Seattle
Rob Font is still down to fight at UFC Fight Night 252.
After losing out on a bout with former WEC and UFC champion Dominick Cruz, the veteran bantamweight contender, Font, will take on late-replacement Jean Matsumoto in a 140-pound catchweight bout next Saturday, Feb. 22, at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle.
Two people with knowledge of the situation informed MMA Junkie of the booking Friday but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. Font's status had been in question since Cruz abruptly announced his retirement last week after suffering a serious shoulder injury.
Undefeated Matsumoto (16-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC), 25, is shifting from a UFC 313 booking against Chris Gutierrez and into a high-profile matchup with Font, who is ranked No. 9 in the official UFC bantamweight rankings. Matsumoto, a Dana White's Contender Series alum, won his first two UFC bouts last year against Dan Argueta by submission and Brad Katona by unanimous decision.
Font (21-8 MMA, 11-7 UFC) recently rebounded from a two-fight skid against Cory Sandhagen and Deiveson Figueiredo when he defeated Kyler Phillips last October.
Below is the updated UFC Fight Night 252 lineup:
Henry Cejudo vs. Song Yadong
Brendan Allen vs. Anthony Hernandez
Melsik Baghdasaryan vs. Jean Silva
Rob Font vs. Jean Matsumoto
Steve Garcia vs. TBA
Ibo Aslan vs. Ion Cutelaba
Andre Fili vs. Melquizael Costa
Modestas Bukauskas vs. Rafael Cerqueira
Javid Basharat vs. Ricky Simon
Adam Fugitt vs. Billy Ray Goff
Mansur Abdul-Malik vs. Nick Klein
Eric McConico vs. Nursulton Ruziboev
Alonzo Menifield vs. Julius Walker
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie's event hub for UFC Fight Night 252.
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