John Lineker Injured; Marlon Moraes Offers to Face Jimmie Rivera at UFC 219
UFC 219 has just taken a hit.
Brazilian slugger John Lineker has been forced out of his main card matchup against Jimmie Rivera due to an undisclosed injury.
With Lineker out, UFC officials are searching for a replacement to step up on less than a week’s notice to face Rivera on the card taking place on Dec. 30 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Shortly after word broke that Lineker was out, Marlon Moraes quickly offered his services to step in to fight Rivera next weekend.
@JimmieRivera135 what’s up? Now it’s me and you. You can’t run anymore let’s do this @seanshelby @Mickmaynard2 @danawhite @ufc
— Marlon Moraes (@MMARLONMORAES) December 24, 2017
Moraes has been itching to get a shot at Rivera for quite some time and the former World Series of Fighting Champion is fresh off a first round knockout against Aljamain Sterling in his last fight.
UFC officials have made no announcements regarding the fight, although Moraes stepping into face Rivera would certainly seem like a worthwhile matchup consider where each of them stand in the division.
For now, Rivera will finish traveling to Las Vegas and hope he gets good news from the UFC on an opponent for his fight next weekend.
