When it was announced that Bobby Green would step in on late notice to fight Josh Thomson at UFC on Fox 12, it left Abel Trujillo without an opponent. Today, the UFC confirmed that England's Ross Pearson has replaced Green for the August 16th Fight Night in Bangor, Maine.
Pearson (15-7, 1 NC) last fought on June 7th against Diego Sanchez in New Mexico, where he showcased superior striking, scored a knockdown, a takedown, all whilst having 100% takedown defense in a split decision loss. The TUF 9 winner returned to lightweight in 2012 after a 1-1 split at featherweight.
Trujillo (12-5, 1 NC) has impressed thus far in the UFC, and is coming off a wicked knockout of Jamie Varner at UFC 169, which marked the first time that Varner had ever been stopped with strikes. Abel's only defeat in the promotion was to top 5 LW contender Khabib Nurmagomedov.
UFC Fight Night in Bangor, Maine features a main event between light heavyweights Ryan Bader and Ovince St. Preux. Maine's own Tim Boetsch fights in the co-main opposite Brad Tavares in the middleweight division.