With Kevin Croom out, Austin Springer steps in to face Alex Caceres at UFC on ESPN+ 33

There is yet another shakeup to the UFC on ESPN+ 33 lineup.

With late replacement Kevin Croom out due to undisclosed reasons, Alex Caceres will now face Austin Springer on Saturday.

ESPN was first to report Croom’s withdrawal which was later confirmed in a statement by the fighter/a>, who claims that he was forced out due to “things completely out of his control,” then released by the UFC.

MMA Junkie confirmed the replacement after an initial post from Springer on his Instagram.

Springer (12-3 MMA, 0-0 UFC) defeated Caceres’ original opponent and current UFC featherweight Giga Chikadze on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2018, but did not earn a contract. Since then, he picked up a unanimous decision win over Kevin Boehm at CageSport 59 in October.

Caceres (16-12 MMA, 11-10 UFC) has won two straight for the first time since 2016. After defeating Steven Peterson, Caceres upset highly touted Chase Hooper, bouncing him out of the ranks of the unbeaten at UFC 250 in June.

UFC on ESPN+ 33 takes place Saturday at UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The event streams live on ESPN.

The latest UFC on ESPN 16 lineup includes:

• Anthony Smith vs. Aleksandar Rakic
• Robbie Lawler vs. Neil Magny
• Alexa Grasso vs. Ji Yeon Kim
• Magomed Ankalaev vs. Ion Cutelaba
• Impa Kasanganay vs. Maki Pitolo
• Bill Algeo vs. Ricardo Lamas
• Hannah Cifers vs. Mallory Martin
• Zak Cummings vs. Alessio Di Chirico
• Alex Caceres vs. Austin Springer
• Polyana Viana vs. Emily Whitmire
• Christian Aguilera vs. Sean Brady