Donald Cerrone will get his fight at UFC 205 in New York City, but it won’t be the dream matchup many had hoped for against Robbie Lawler.
After it was revealed over the weekend that Lawler was out of the previously announced matchup with Cerrone (31-7 MMA, 18-4 UFC), Kelvin Gastelum (12-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) will now step in to face “Cowboy” in the welterweight bout.
A UFC official confirmed to MMAjunkie that verbal agreements are in place for the bout following an initial report from ESPN’s Brett Okamoto.
UFC 205 takes place Nov. 12 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The event airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass, though the bout order hasn’t been finalized.
Cerrone, No. 14 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA welterweight rankings, comes into the bout on a red-hot streak with three straight wins since his February debut at 170 pounds. This past month, he dispatched longtime welterweight Rick Story at UFC 202, adding to a long list of knockout wins in his octagon career.
No. 15-ranked Gastelum, meanwhile, is coming off the most significant victory of his young career. “The Ultimate Fighter 17” winner topped former UFC welterweight champion Johny Hendricks by unanimous decision at UFC 200. He was scheduled to fight Jorge Masvidal at UFC Fight Night 98 one week prior to UFC 206 on Nov. 5, but was removed from the fight in lieu of the matchup with Cerrone.
A replacement opponent for Masvidal has yet to be determined.
The latest UFC 205 card now includes:
Rashad Evans vs. Tim Kennedy
Thiago Alves vs. Al Iaquinta
Marcos Rogerio de Lima vs. Gian Villante
Donald Cerrone vs. Kelvin Gastelum
