Tom Watson (16-6) has been forced out of his middleweight fight with Alessio Sakara (15-10), stepping in for Watson is Magnus Cedenblad (11-4). Watson has suffered an injury and he will no longer be able to fight in front his home crowd at UFC Fight Night 30 on October 26th at the Manchester Arena in England.
Cedenblad will step in after just two weeks ago, when he finished Jarred Hamman via submission at UFC 164: Henderson vs. Pettis. That was the second time Cedenblad stepped into the octagon. The first time around, he lost to Francis Carmont back in April of 2012. The Sweden native shocked many critics in his last bout and will look to do the same in his next fight as he takes on a well-experienced UFC veteran.
Italy’s Sakara fought Patrick Cote at UFC 154: St-Pierre vs. Condit in his last bout, but was disqualified for illegal blows to the back of the head. That lost counted as his third straight, making this next bout a must win. Sakara’s last win was over James Irvin at UFC LIVE 1: Jones vs. Vera back in March of 2010. Nine of his 15 wins come by the way of TKO/KO.