Australian lightweight, Ben Wall has agreed to fight Tristar gym product Alex Garcia at Brisbane’s UFC Fight Night 33 event.
Details of the change first appeared via MMA Weekly, with Fight News Australia since then confirming with Wall’s manager Wade Hampel from Big Fight Management that Legacy Fighting Championships have released the 24 year-old from their contract to compete in the UFC.
News of the change comes less than two weeks out from the December 7 show (Australian time), which is set to take place at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre.
Garcia was slated to face Andreas Stahl at the event. The reason for Stahl’s apparent exit from the card is unknown at this point in time.
Hailing out of Brisbane, Wall (7-0-1) was a lightweight contestant in the 2012 Australia vs UK edition of the Ultimate Fighter. He was defeated in the semifinals of the series by eventual finalist Colin Fletcher, and also missed out on a spot at the finale event in December – UFC on FX 6: Sotiropoulos vs Pearson.
Post TUF the 24 year-old defeated Jai Bradney at Nitro 8 before shipping off to Canada where he’s been training at the MMA University Gym. It was recently reported that the Aussie had signed with Texas based Legacy FC, and was expected to debut for the promotion against Alex Black in January.
Garcia, 26, trains along side the likes of UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre and Rory MacDonald at the Tristar gym in Canada. Originally from the Dominican Repuplic, Garcia (10-1) has fought the majority of his career in Canada, and is undefeated in his last four appearances. This will be his debut appearance in the UFC.
Wall will join a host of local fighters on the card, which is headlined by heavyweight tilt between Mark Hunt and Antonio Silva.
