David Onama Joins UFC for Short-Notice Bout vs. Mason Jones

Earlier Tuesday, published reports indicated that Onama will join MMA’s top promotion, the UFC, on four days notice to appear on Saturday’s UFC Vegas 41 card as a replacement for Alan Patrick against Mason Jones.

A Late Change Brings Good News for David Onama

Barring any further alterations to the card between now and Saturday, Onama’s debut against Mason Jones is forecast to be the co-featured prelim on a 14-fight card at the UFC Apex facility in Las Vegas.

The now-canceled Patrick vs. Jones tilt was to have been a rematch of their meeting from June 5’s UFC Vegas 28 undercard.

That evening, the fight was halted and subsequently ruled a no-contest upon the latter sustaining an accidental eye poke midway through the second round of a scheduled three.

Although Patrick asked for a rematch of that fight, it will need to be put on hold for the time being, as he is currently unable to compete amid COVID-19 issues.

Onama’s UFC Debut Historic For Uganda

One key storyline that will be discussed at length between now and Saturday is the history that David Onama’s UFC debut brings with it at UFC Vegas 41.

With the short-notice call-up by UFC President Dana White earlier Tuesday, Onama is set to become the first fighter in the UFC from the East African nation of Uganda when he walks to the famed Octagon this coming weekend.

The (Short) Road to Oct. 23: How Onama and Jones Got Here

As previously mentioned, David Onama (8-0 MMA, 8-0 FAC) scored a first-round TKO against Brad Robison just 11 days ago in FAC 10’s main event to run his professional MMA record to 8-0 as part of an 18-fight winning streak, counting amateur bouts, to begin his career.

Crowd in Missouri Clamors for Onama to Get His UFC Debut

In the final few moments before the TKO against Robison was made official two Friday nights ago, fans in the audience inside Cable Dahmer Arena were chanting “UFC! UFC!”, something that the commentators were quick to make note of on the telecast that evening.

“I think we might be getting a call from Uncle Dana sooner rather than later,” said Justin Bricker, who served as the blow-by-blow commentator for FAC 10.

Mason Jones Enters on Decent Form

In the other corner, Mason Jones (10-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) enters with a 3-1 record with one no-contest over his last five MMA appearances.

Prior to the no-contest on June 5, he dropped a unanimous decision at the hands of Mike Davis on Jan. 20 during UFC Fight Island 8.

UFC Vegas 41 Overview

These other bouts are also currently slated to take place during UFC Vegas 41 this Saturday.

Note: The bout order has yet to be finally determined, and thus the exact placement of the fights may not be definitively known until closer to the date of the show. Some bouts may get postponed entirely, while others may remain intact but are instead rebooked for another show. Additionally, fights may be added to this event before the date of the card.

• Main Event: Catchweight Bout: Paulo Costa vs. Marvin Vettori (195 lbs.) Costa unable to make originally contracted weight of 185 lbs.
• Co-Main Event: Lightweight Bout: Grant Dawson vs. Ricky Glenn
• Women’s Bantamweight Bout: Jessica-Rose Clark vs. Joselyne Edwards
• Featherweight Bout: Alex Caceres vs. Seung Woo Choi
• Welterweight Bout: Dwight Grant vs. Francisco Trinaldo
• Light Heavyweight Bout: Nick Negumeranu vs. Ike Villanueva
• Featured Prelim: Middleweight Bout: Jun Yong Park vs. Gregory Rodrigues
• Strawweight Bout: Tabitha Ricci vs. Maria Oliveira
• Middleweight Bout: Laureano Staropoli vs. Jaime Pickett (rescheduling of a postponed bout from Oct. 9)
• Lightweight Bout: Khama Worthy vs. Jai Herbert
• Flyweight Bout: Jeff Molina vs. Daniel Lacerda
• Strawweight Bout: Livinha Souza vs. Randa Markos
• Bantamweight Bout: Jonathan Martinez vs. Zviad Lazishvili

Be sure to stay tuned to Overtime Heroics for more information on the latest fights scheduled for upcoming UFC events.

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