Following the injury-induced withdrawal (and subsequent retirement) of Dominick Cruz from the co-main event at UFC Seattle later this month, Rob Font has been handed a new dance partner for the event.
Font (21-8 MMA, 11-7 UFC) will now face the unbeaten Jean Matsumoto (16-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) at a catchweight of 140 lbs. The fight has alos been downgraded from the co-main event slot and been replaced there by the middleweight matchup between Brendan Allen and Anthony Hernandez.
37-year-old Font has been in the UFC since 2014 and has picked up wins over names such as Thomas Almeida, Sergio Pettis and Cody Garbrandt. He last competed in October, picking up a decision win over Kyler Phillips at the UFC Apex.
Matsumoto made his Octagon debut in April of last year, submitting Dan Argueta before going on to outpoint 2-time TUF winner Brad Katona in October.
2 UFC Debuts at UFC Seattle
Also added to the card this week is a light heavyweight contest between Alonzo Menifield (15-5-1 MMA, 8-5-1 UFC) and Julius Walker (6-0), who makes his UFC debut.
Menifield is in desperate need of a win after being stopped by both Carlos Ulberg and Azamat Murzakanov in 2024.
And one other short-notice fight has been confirmed, as Nursulton Ruziboev (36-9-2-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) will look to bounce back after losing to Joaquin Buckley last May as he takes on another UFC newcomer in Eric McConico Jr (9-2-1).
UFC Seattle takes place on February 22nd at the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington. Check out the full fight card below.
Main Card
Henry Cejudo vs. Yadong Song (135 lbs)
Brendan Allen vs. Anthony Hernandez (185 lbs)
Jean Silva vs. Melsik Baghdasaryan (145 lbs)
Alonzo Menifield vs. Julius Walker (205 lbs)
Rob Font vs. Jean Matsumoto (140 lbs)
Preliminary card
Ion Cutelaba vs. Ibo Aslan (205 lbs)
Modestas Bukauskas vs. Raffael Cerqueira (205 lbs)
Ricky Simon vs. Javid Basharat (135 lbs)
Andre Fili vs. Melquizael Costa (145 lbs)
Nick Klein vs. Mansur Abdul Malik (185 lbs)
Adam Fugitt vs. Billy Ray Goff (170 lbs)
Nursulton Ruzobiev vs. Eric McConico Jr (185 lbs)
