Aalon Cruz won’t be facing his originally scheduled opponent, but he will stay on the UFC on ESPN+ 27 card.
With Steven Peterson out, Cruz (8-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) now faces fellow promotional debutant Spike Carlyle. A person with knowledge of the situation informed MMA Junkie of the booking Thursday. The person asked to remain anonymous since the promotion has yet to make an announcement.
Florida’s Cruz was signed to the UFC following a brutal flying knee knockout victory on last summer’s season of “Dana White’s Contender Series.” The 30-year-old fighter is riding a four-fight winning streak.
Carlyle (8-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) or, as he’s known to some, “The Alpha Ginger,” makes his UFC debut on a little over three weeks’ notice. A veteran of LFA, Carlyle has also won his most recent four outings.
UFC on ESPN+ 27 takes place Feb. 29 at Chartway Arena in Norfolk, Va. The card will stream on ESPN+.
The latest UFC on ESPN+ 27 lineup now includes:
- Joseph Benavidez vs. Deiveson Figueiredo – for vacant flyweight title
- Mickey Gall vs. Alex Oliveira
- Megan Anderson vs. Norma Dumont
- Zarah Fairn vs. Felicia Spencer
- Kyler Phillips vs. Gabriel Silva
- Brendan Allen vs. Tom Breese
- Sean Brady vs. Ismail Naurdiev
- Spike Carlyle vs. Aalon Cruz
- T.J. Brown vs. Jordan Griffin
- Alex Munoz vs. Luis Pena
- Giga Chikadze vs. Mike Davis
- TJ Brown vs. Jordan Griffin
- Serghei Spivac vs. Marcin Tybura
'The Alpha Ginger' Spike Carlyle replaces Steven Peterson, meets Aalon Cruz at UFC on ESPN+ 27
