UFC 154: Matt Riddle steps in to replace Stephen Thompson against Besam Yousef

A new bout has been formed for the UFC 154 card as Matt Riddle (6-3) steps in as a late replacement for Stephen Thompson (6-1) and now faces Besam Yousef (6-1) in a welterweight battle. The event is set to take place at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada, on Nov. 17.

UFC officials announced the new match-up today.

UFC 154 will feature a headline bout between current UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre and interim champ Carlos Condit. The main card will air LIVE on PPV with the prelims set to air on FX and Facebook.

Matt Riddle last fought at UFC 149 in July, where he scored a submission victory over Chris Clements earning “Submission of the Night” honors. However, it was later announced that Riddle had failed his UFC 149 drug test, testing positive for marijuana. He was subsequently suspended for 90-days and his win over Chris Clements was changed to a No Contest. Prior to that Matt had defeated Henry Martinez via split decision at UFC 143 in February, bouncing back from a two fight losing streak. Riddle now has a chance to pick up a big win over Yousef in November and begin climbing the welterweight ladder.

Meanwhile, Besam Yousef was last in action at UFC on FUEL TV 2 in April, where he dropped a second round submission loss to Simeon Thoresen. Prior to that he had gone undefeated building up a six fight winning streak, defeating notable fighters such as Mickael Delvalle, Joao Neves and Jason Ponet whilst competing on the regional circuit in Sweden. Yousef will no doubt look to pick up his first UFC win with a big performance against Riddle.

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