There’s been a little switcheroo at this weekend’s UFC Vegas 99, and it’s a bit of a crazy journey for one fighter.
With Brady Hiestand out of his fight with Jake Hadley (11-3), it’s Cameron Smotherman (11-4) stepping in as a replacement with the event just days away. That in itself is not unheard of (let’s not forget, Dan Ige stepped up on mere hours notice earlier this year at UFC 303). However, Smotherman had made the trip to Saudi Arabia to corner Raufeon Stots at the PFL Battle of the Giants: Brace for Impact card.
Now he’s on a plane back to Las Vegas. That’s at least a little bit crazy.
News of the switch and Smotherman returning to the U.S. was first reported by Alex Behunin. Smotherman later confirmed the booking on his Instagram Story.
Following an appearance on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2023 that saw him defeated by Charalampos Grigoriou, Smotherman has won his next three fights. With two stoppages in that stretch, he most recently submitted Ryan Mondala with an anaconda choke.
Hadley is coming off a decision win over Caolan Loughran at UFC 304 back in July.
UFC Vegas 99 takes place at the UFC Apex this Saturday, October 19, 2024 with the following match-ups attached:
- Anthony Hernandez vs. Michel Pereira
- Rob Font vs. Kyler Phillips
- Charles Johnson vs. Su Mudaerji
- Darren Elkins vs. Daniel Pineda
- Matheus Nicolau vs. Asu Almabayev
- Brad Katona vs. Jean Matsumoto
- Joselyne Edwards vs. Tamires Vidal
- Jessica Penne vs. Elise Reed
- Melissa Martinez vs. Alice Ardelean
- Austen Lane vs. Robelis Despaigne
- Jake Hadley vs. Cameron Smotherman
