‘The Alpha Ginger’ is in the UFC, and the fighter otherwise known as Spike Carlyle will get right to work at UFC Norfolk. Going down at the end of this month, Carlyle will join the card in place of Stephen Peterson to face Aalon Cruz in a featherweight bout.
Carlyle (8-1) himself announced that he had signed with the UFC on Wednesday, also noting he’d fight on the Norfolk card. Thursday, MMA Junkie was first to report that Carlyle had been tapped to replace Peterson. No reason was given for Peterson dropping off the card.
We last saw Carlyle at LXF 4, after he knocked out Jean-Paul Bosnoyan in the first round of their scrap. That extended his win streak to four. The California native, 26-years old, had discussed jumping to the majors, including the UFC, but keeping option like RIZIN open as well.
In Cruz (8-2), he meets an opponent fresh off winning a UFC deal on Dana White’s Contender Series. 30 years of age, Cruz will also be making his octagon debut in the fight.
UFC Norfolk (UFC Fight Night 169) takes place February 29, 2020 at the Chartway Arena in Norfolk, VA. The main event sees Joseph Benavidez and Deiveson Figueiredo battling for the vacant flyweight title. The full card as it stands can be found below.
Joseph Benavidez vs. Deiveson Figueiredo – for the vacant UFC flyweight championship
Felicia Spencer vs. Zarah Fairn dos Santos
Ion Cuțelaba vs. Magomed Ankalaev
Megan Anderson vs. Norma Dumont Viana
Chas Skelly vs. Grant Dawson
Gabriel Silva vs. Kyler Phillips
Mike Davis vs. Giga Chikadze
Brendan Allen vs. Tom Breese
Luis Peña vs. Alexander Muñoz
Marcin Tybura vs. Sergey Spivak
Jordan Griffin vs. T.J. Brown
Ismail Naurdiev vs. Sean Brady
Spike Carlyle vs. Aalon Cruz
