After injuries to Sergio Pettis and Chas Skelly, Ricardo Ramos and Jordan Griffin now have new opponents for UFC Fight Night Minneapolis.
The UFC announced this morning that Ramos will meet Journey Newson (7-1) while Griffin takes on Vince Murdock (10-5). Both replacement opponents will be making their UFC debuts. Ramos (12-2) enters bout following his first defeat inside the octagon and just the 2nd loss of his career. He entered the UFC with three straight wins, quickly establishing himself as one to watch until Said Nurmagomedov stopped him earlier this year.
At just 23 years of age, Ramos remains an undeniable prospect but will be expected to win here against a UFC newcomer. Nonetheless, Newson is riding a four fight win streak, suffering just one loss in his eight career outings thus far. That defeat came against current UFC Bantamweight Benito Lopez but Ramos has finished six of his seven wins, with three submissions and knockouts each.
Meanwhile at Featherweight, Griffin (17-6) looks for his first official UFC win, taking on Murdock in must-win affair. 'The Native Psycho' entered the promotion via Dana White's Contender Series but lost his promotional debut, being outpointed by Dan Ige last December. He'll now need a swift return to the win column though, meeting an inactive newcomer that enters after two straight defeats.
Murdock hasn't fought since March 2018, losing to Vikash Dahiya just weeks after suffering a defeat opposite Krishan Rawat. Prior to that though, Murdock had won five of his last six and has finished eight of his ten wins including seven knockouts. Murdock has twice appeared in Bellator, going 1-1 including a decision loss to Jeremiah Labiano.
UFC Fight Night Minneapolis takes place on June 29th at the Target Center. The event airs on ESPN and it's updated card can be found below:
Main Card (9 pm - ESPN)
Francis Ngannou (13-3) vs. Junior dos Santos (21-5)
Jussier Formiga (23-5) vs. Joseph Benavidez (27-5)
Demian Maia (26-9) vs. Anthony Rocco Martin (16-4)
Roosevelt Roberts (8-0) vs. Vinc Pichel (11-2)
Drew Dober (20-9, 1NC) vs. Marco Polo Reyes (8-5)
Alonzo Menifield (8-0) vs. Paul Craig (11-3)
Prelims
Journey Newson (7-1) vs. Ricardo Ramos (12-2)
Erik Anders (11-4) vs. Vinicius Moreira (9-2)
Vince Murdock (10-5) vs. Jordan Griffin (17-6)
Jared Gordon (14-3) vs. Dan Moret (13-5)
Justin Ledet (9-2, 1NC) vs. Dalcha Lungiambula (9-1)
Emily Whitmire (4-2) vs. Amanda Ribas (6-1)
Junior Albini (14-5) vs. Maurice Greene (7-2)
