December 18th UFC Card Loses Two Fights, Gains New Pairing

UFC’s final event of the year has lost two fights, although the promotion has been able to make a new pairing because of recent circumstances.

After previous bookings fell through, middleweights Dustin Stolzfus and Gerald Meerschaert have been matched up for their December 18th event.

News of the matchup was first reported by Nolan King of MMA Junkie. The fight is expected to happen at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.

Stoltzfus had two previous opponents set for the date.

He first first set to fight Anthony Hernandez, who later reportedly had to withdraw from the fight due to injury. Hernandez was then replaced by UFC newcomer Caio Borralho, although that bout wasn’t able to happen due to visa issues.

Meerschaert was previously expected to fight Abusupiyan Magomedov.

The new pairing is a significant step-up for Stoltzfus, especially considering the situation he is currently in.

Stoltzfus will be fighting for his first win since joining the UFC roster. He has lost two bouts since joining the promotion last year, losing to Kyle Daukaus and Rodolfo Vieira.

On the other hand, Meerschaert has won his last two fights. After scoring a first-round submission win over Bartosz Fabinski in April, he returned in August to stop Makhmud Muradov with a rear naked choke.

Heavyweights Derrick Lewis and Chris Daukaus are set to headline UFC’s December 18th show. Here is the updated lineup:

Bout 9: Derrick Lewis (25-8) vs. Chris Daukaus (12-3) (Heavyweight)

Bout 8: Don’Tale Mayes (8-4) vs. Josh Parisian (14-4) (Heavyweight)

Bout 7: Raphael Assuncao (27-8) vs. Ricky Simon (18-3) (Bantamweight)

Bout 6: Raquel Pennington (12-8) vs. Julia Avila (9-2) (Bantamweight)

Bout 5: Darren Elkins (26-9) vs. Cub Swanson (27-12) (Featherweight)

Bout 4: Angela Hill (13-10) vs. Amanda Lemos (10-1-1) (Strawweight)

Bout 3: Diego Ferreira (17-4) vs. Mateusz Gamrot (19-1) (Lightweight)

Bout 2: Stephen Thompson (16-5-1) vs. Belal Muhammad (19-3) (Welterweight)

Bout 1: Gerald Meerschaert (33-14) vs. Dustin Stoltzfus (13-3) (Middleweight)