Ilir Latifi steps in against Gegard Mousasi at Saturday’s UFC On FUEL TV 9 event

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The drama surrounding the uncertainty of whether Alexander Gustafsson would be available to fight Saturday at UFC On FUEL TV 9 against Gegard Mousasi in the night’s main event was answered on Tuesday as he was not cleared to fight due to a cut sustained in training. The big question that remained was whether Mousasi would remain on the card, and if he was, who would he face. That question has now been answered.

UFC President Dana White announced on Twitter on Tuesday that Ilir Latifi (7-2 1 NC, 0-0 UFC) will step in on short notice to take on Mousasi (33-3-2, 0-0 UFC) on Saturday night, and the fight will remain as the night’s main event.

Latifi is a training partner of Gustafsson and comes into the fight having won his last three fights. Latifi campaigned for the fight on his Twitter page, and Mousasi accepted the last-minute replacement. Due to the change, the fight will be three rounds. Gustafsson vs. Mousasi was scheduled to be five rounds.

UFC On FUEL TV 9 takes place on Saturday from the Ericsson Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden. The night’s main card airs on FUEL TV while prelims air on Facebook. Also taking place on the card is a lightweight battle between Ross Pearson and Ryan Couture, a heavyweight battle between Matt Mitrione and Phil De Fries, and a bantamweight clash between Brad Pickett and Mike Easton.

Ryan Frederick has been a diehard mixed martial arts fan since he saw UFC 1 at the age of 7. Since then he has yet to miss a show. He also has loves for football, baseball and fine whiskey. He fell in love with covering MMA after having also covered baseball and football, both professional and college, while working towards a journalism degree at Texas Christian University. His work has been seen on FOXSports.com, InsideFights.com, WrestlingObserver.com, Bleacher Report and ToughTalkMMA.com.