Thirty-three-year-old Brazilian Johnny Eduardo (25-9) will have to wait awhile longer before making his sophomore appearance inside the UFC Octagon.
Originally slated to fight Michael McDonald (13-1) at UFC 139, Eduardo was forced to pull out of the bout due to injury.
Stepping in to fight McDonald at bantamweight at the November 19th event in San Jose will be 27-year-old UFC newcomer Alex Soto (6-0-1). UFC President Dana White confirmed the news on Wednesday.
Soto, a Mexican immigrant, won his first six fights as a professional. His most recent fight ended in a draw against Seiji Akao (15-4-1) at “Deep – 54 Impact” in June. Outside of the cage Soto works for the U.S. Navy as a dolphin trainer.
At 20-years-old, McDonald is the UFC’s youngest fighter. A WEC transfer, he has won both his bouts inside the Octagon, defeating Edwin Figueroa (8-1) via unanimous decision at UFC Fight Night 24 in March and then pulling off a split decision victory over Chris Cariaso (12-3) at UFC 130 in May.
See ProMMAnow.com’s (www.prommanow.com) Upcoming Events page for the full UFC 139 fight card line-up. Also, if you are not yet familiar with Soto, check out this promo video from Alchemist Management.