After Sean O’Malley was unfortunately pulled from UFC 239, the promotion struggled to find an opponent for Marlon Vera, but eventually found Nohelin Hernandez.
MMA Fusion first reported the new bout for UFC 239.
Originally, Drako Rodriguez was originally going to fill in for Sean O’Malley against Marlon Vera. However, very strangely, the promotion he fights for, King of the Cage, blocked him from signing with the UFC, as told by his management. Obviously, a very bad look for KOTC, and we can only hope Rodriguez will get his shot at the big stage in due time.
With Plan A unexpectedly not working out, Plan B was Nohelin Hernandez, who was set to headline an event in LFA this month opposite former UFC fighter Anthony Birchak. Fighting on International Fight Week is certainly a better alternative for Hernandez.
This opportunity stems from Sean O’Malley being pulled from UFC 239 due to residual amounts of ostarine in his system, a substance that he recently finished serving a suspension for.
Hernandez is 10-2 in his career and is currently on a four-fight win streak. He has more split decision wins (four) than he does finishes (three).
Marlon Vera is 7-4 in the Octagon with six stoppages and has finished his last three opponents.
UFC 239 takes place on Saturday, July 6, from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The card is headlined by two title fights, with pound-for-pound great Jon Jones defending his light heavyweight belt against Thiago Santos, and the greatest female fighter of all time, Amanda Nunes, defending one of her two belts against former champion Holly Holm.
