Brian Kelleher needed a new opponent for UFC Vegas 9 after the withdrawal of Ricky Simon and now he has one because Kevin Natividad has accepted the short notice opportunity.
MMA Junkie first reported the news.
Kelleher (21-11-0) has won two of his last five under the UFC banner, defeating Ode Osbourne and Hunter Azure in that stretch. Kelleher is competing for the fourth time in 2020, making it his most active year as a professional MMA fighter since 2015. Kelleher has competed 32 times as a professional MMA fighter and just eight of those bouts went the distance.
Natividad (9-1-0) is making his UFC debut in this bout and does so on the strength of a five fight winning streak. Natividad has suffered a single defeat as a professional MMA fighter and that came to Glen Baker via first round knockout at LFA 24. Natividad went undefeated as an amateur MMA fighter, with one of those wins coming over fellow UFC fighter Kai Kamaka III.
UFC Vegas 9 takes place on Saturday, September 5 from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada with Alistair Overeem and Augusto Sakai headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, which streams live on ESPN+.
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