At UFC Winnipeg, otherwise known as UFC on FOX 26 next month, a TUF finalist will get back in the octagon, and a former KSW champion will step in to replace a Brazilian legend.
UFC Winnipeg has found its replacement for Little Nog, as Poland’s Jan Blachowicz will step in to face Jared Cannonier. The legendary Brazilian light heavyweight, full name Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, ran afoul of USADA, the UFC announced recently, and was forced off the UFC on FOX 26 card. That left Cannonier without an opponent, at least until today. The UFC released the news via its official website.
Not content to stop there, the UFC also announced the addition of former Ultimate Fighter: Nations finalist Sheldon Westcott to the event. He’ll be taking on the UK’s Danny Roberts in welterweight action.
Blachowicz (20-7), a former KSW light heavyweight champion who defended his title on numerous occasions, will be making a relatively quick turnaround for the fight. He last competed on October 21 at UFC Fight Night 118, submitting Devin Clark. Prior to that he had lost two straight, to Patrick Cummins and Alexander Gustafsson. Cannonier (10-2), meanwhile, comes off a win over Nick Roehrick in July. The pair will headline the Fox Sports 1 preliminary card in Winnipeg.
Canada’s Sheldon Westcott made it to the finals of The Ultimate Fighter Nations: Canada vs. Australia back in 2014, where he lost the all-Canadian final to Elias Theodoreau. Since then, Westcott (9–3–1) has struggled to make it to the cage consistently. Fighting just once per year since, Westcott is coming off a 2016 win against Edgar Garcia at UFC 195. That win, however, was over a year ago, almost two years in fact.
Hoping to take advantage of any ring rust, Britain’s Danny Roberts (14–2) will look to move his winning streak to two. He enters UFC Winnipeg off a win over Bobby Nash, and is 8-1 in his last nine professional bouts.
UFC Winnipeg, or UFC on FOX 26 if you prefer, is headlined by a welterweight title eliminator between Robbie Lawler and Rafael dos Anjos. The card unfolds at the MTS Place arena in Winnipeg, Manitoba on December 16.
