An injury has hit this weekend’s UFC 143 preliminary card and as a result Jorge Lopez has been forced out of his scheduled appearance against Matt Riddle.

The extent of the injury is not known.

In his place to face Riddle on just five days’ notice is UFC newcomer Henry Martinez.

UFC 143 is set to take place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas on February 4th. Nick Diaz will face Carlos Condit for the UFC’s interim welterweight title live on pay-per-view.

Riddle was originally scheduled to face Luis Ramos at last month’s UFC 141 event, however after making weight the fighter became ill and was forced to withdraw on the day of the fight.

He last saw the inside of a cage when he stepped in against Lance Benoist at UFC’s “Fight Night 25: Ellenberger vs. Shields” event. He struggled with his opponent from the opening of the first round and eventually dropped a unanimous decision. After going 5-1 inside the UFC the Fight Night 25 loss marked his second straight defeat inside the Cage. All of Riddle’s pro bouts have been in the UFC.

His new opponent is a Greg Jackson trained Fighter.

Henry Martinez is a submission artist who competed for the Bellator banner in their season 2 featherweight tournament. This is where he suffered his lone career loss. Now a welterweight he looks to take this fight on just five days notice and shock the world with a win over the rough and durable Ultimate Fighter veteran.

In addition to the last minute change of the evenings card, UFC officials have also announced the addition of a two-fight facebook card that will stream live on the popular social network.

The UFC 143 full card breaks down as follows:

MAIN CARD: (Pay-per-view)
Carlos Condit vs. Nick Diaz (for interim welterweight title)
Roy Nelson vs. Fabricio Werdum
Josh Koscheck vs. Mike Pierce
Renan Barao vs. Scott Jorgensen
Ed Herman vs. Clifford Starks

PRELIMINARY CARD: (FX)
Max Holloway vs. Dustin Poirier
Henry Martinez vs. Matt Riddle
Alex Caceres vs. Edwin Figueroa
Matt Brown vs. Chris Cope

PRELIMINARY CARD: (Facebook)
Dan Stittgen vs. Stephen Thompson
Rafael Natal vs. Michael Kuiper

Click here for the latest UFC 143 coverage provided by BJPENN.COM

comments