Jimmie Rivera Now Meets John Lineker at UFC 219 in Las Vegas

With Dominick Cruz out due to injury, Jimmie Rivera has a new opponent at UFC 219 as hard hitting bantamweight John Lineker will step into the fight on Dec. 30 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

UFC officials announced the new matchup on Tuesday.

Lineker has been a terror since moving to 135 pounds with a 5-1 record overall and his only loss coming tu bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw.

Most recently, Lineker returned from a broken jaw to pick up a unanimous decision win over Marlon Vera in October. As soon as news leaked that Cruz was out of UFC 219, Lineker immediately volunteered his services for the fight with Rivera.

Rivera may be closing in on title contention with a win but he certainly has a tough task ahead of him in Lineker in just about five weeks time.