The upcoming UFC Fight Night Lincoln card has a new main event according to Brett Okamoto of ESPN as James Vick replaces Al Iaquinta against Justin Gaethje. The reason for Iaquinta’s removal from the card has not been revealed, by Iaquinta himself did say that he was not fighting at the event. Vick was originally set to face Paul Felder at UFC Fight Night Boise, it is unknown if Felder is still competing after the recent card changes.
Gaethje (18-2-0) enters the contest while riding a two fight losing streak, with those losses coming to former UFC Lightweight Champion Eddie Alvarez and Dustin Poirier. Gaethje hasn’t picked up a victory in almost a year, with that last victory coming over Michael Johnson at the UFC Ultimate Fighter 25 Finale. Gaethje was the first and only World Series Of Fighting Lightweight Champion, defeating Richard Patishnock to win the gold at the WSOF 8.
Vick (13-1-0) is going to be entering the bout on the strength of a four fight winning streak, having defeated Abel Trujillo, Marco Polo Reyes, Joe Duffy and Francisco Trinaldo. Vick has suffered just a single defeat as a professional MMA fighter and that came to Beneil Dariush at UFC 199. Vick also competed on the UFC Ultimate Fighter 15, making it to the semi-finals before losing to Michael Chiesa.
UFC Fight Night Lincoln takes place on Saturday, August 25 from the Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska with Justin Gaethje and James Vick headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, which airs live on Fox Sports 1.
