Thomas Gifford has a new opponent for Saturday night.
On a mere four days’ notice, Mike Davis (7-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) will step in to take on Gifford (17-8 MMA, 0-1 UFC) in what will be both fighters’ sophomore UFC contests.
A person with knowledge of the situation confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie after an initial report from UFC broadcast partner ESPN.
Gifford will replace “Dana White’s Contender Series” signee Brok Weaver, who was removed from the card earlier this week for unknown reasons. However, Weaver has publicly stated he was not removed for an injury or for weight cut issues.
UFC on ESPN+ 19 takes place Saturday at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla. The card streams on ESPN+.
Davis, 27, was supposed to compete against Danny Henry at UFC on ESPN+ 18 on Sept. 28 in Copenhagen. However, a late injury to Henry scrapped the bout entirely.
Both Davis and Gifford lost their promotional debuts earlier this year at UFC on ESPN+ 8 in April. Davis was submitted by longtime UFC fighter Gilbert Burns with a second-round rear-naked choke. Gifford dropped a unanimous decision to Roosevelt Roberts.
With the change, the UFC on ESPN+ 19 lineup includes:
MAIN CARD (ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET)
Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Michelle Waterson
Kron Gracie vs. Cub Swanson
Mike Davis vs. Thomas Gifford
Mackenzie Dern vs. Amanda Ribas
Matt Frevola vs. Luis Pena
Eryk Anders vs. Gerald Meerschaert
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 5 p.m. ET)
Niko Price vs. James Vick
Devin Clark vs. Ryan Spann
Max Griffin vs. Alex Morono
Tim Elliott vs. Deiveson Figueiredo
Hector Aldana vs. Miguel Baeza
Andrew Sanchez vs. Marvin Vettori
J.J. Aldrich vs. Lauren Mueller
Andre Ewell vs. Marlon Vera
Mike Davis steps in on four days' notice to fight Thomas Gifford at UFC on ESPN+ 19
