Following the news that the originally scheduled main event between Demetrious Johnson and John Moraga had been cancelled due to an injury to Johnson, UFC officials were scrambling to put together a main event for April’s TUF 17 Finale.
UFC President Dana White has announced a new main event. Former WEC Featherweight Urijah Faber (27-6, 3-2 UFC) makes a quick return to the cage to take on former bantamweight title challenger Scott Jorgensen (14-6, 3-2 UFC) in the night’s five-round main event.
Glad everyone is loving TUF this season! The main event for the Live Finale is Uriah Faber vs Scott Jorgensen @tufonfx
— Dana White (@danawhite) February 27, 2013
Faber makes the quick turnaround after submitting Ivan Menjivar this past weekend at UFC 157. Another win could put Faber right back into a title fight as he looks to attain some UFC gold. He also holds wins over Brian Bowles and Eddie Wineland since moving over to the UFC from the WEC.
Jorgensen last fought in December at UFC On FOX 5, where he earned ‘Fight Of The Night’ and ‘Submission Of The Night’ honors for his submission win over John Albert. That ended Jorgensen’s two-fight losing skid that put him in danger of being released, which followed a 7-1 run that earned Jorgensen a shot at the WEC Bantamweight Championship. He lost to champion Dominick Cruz in that fight at the last-ever WEC event.
Faber and Jorgensen have history as Jorgensen credits Faber for getting him into the sport, and the two are friends. They will put that aside in hopes of putting on a fight that fans will love.
The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale takes place on April 13 from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. The main card airs on FX while prelims will air on FUEL TV and Facebook.
