Jorge Masvidal has been forced out of his fight with Norman Parke at UFC Fight Night 58 in Boston on January 16th after picking up an injury.
Masvidal has been on a three-fight winning streak this year which had left him placed at No.13 on the lightweight rankings. While the UFC haven’t been able to replace him with somebody else currently residing in the top 15 they have brought in a respected opponent in the shape of Gleison Tibau.
Tibau also went undefeated this year with wins over Pat Healy and Piotr Hallmann. The 31 year-old has now fought an impressive 23 times in the Octagon over an eight year period, going 15-8.
Parke can’t boast that level of UFC experience, but the 27 year-old did win the TUF ‘Smashes’ series and has since gone on to prove himself worthy of his spot in the promotion with four wins and a draw so far, including a TKO win against Naoyuki Kotani last time out.
Parke had been due a bigger name opponent this time out with Diego Sanchez originally lined up to fight him at UFC 180 in Mexico, but the Northern Irishman had to pull out due to an injury.
In Tibau he may have found himself a tougher challenge and a win here would certainly mark him out as a credible challenger for a spot on the rankings list.
Tibau Vs Parke joins an entertaining looking card for the UFC’s first ‘Fight Night’ show of 2015 which will be fronted by Conor McGregor Vs Dennis Siver with Ben Henderson Vs Eddie Alvarez in the co-main event.
