Latifi to replace Gustafsson on UFC’s Fuel TV 9 card
Ilir Latifi will make his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut on Saturday when he steps in for injured teammate Alexander Gustafsson to fight light heavyweight Gegard Mousasi in the main event of UFC on Fuel TV 9 in Stockholm.
The announcement, made Tuesday evening by UFC president Dana White on Twitter, ended days of speculation about the main event. Gustafsson was cut in training, but was hoping to be cleared by doctors in time to fight.
He was officially ruled out Tuesday morning, leaving officials scrambling to find a replacement. Wanderlei Silva had thrown a wrinkle into the process on Monday when he tweeted that he had been named as Gustafsson’s replacement. Silva confirmed the news in conversations with several media outlets, but revealed on Tuesday that the whole thing had been an April Fools’ prank.