Gleison Tibau replaces injured Jorge Masvidal, meets Norman Parke at UFC Fight Night 59

By Connor Hutton - @ConnorHuttonMMA

Credit: UFC

UFC Fight Night 59: McGregor vs. Siver on January 18 was coming together as a must see card, however injury has struck a featured lightweight bout between Jorge Masvidal (28-8) and Norman Parke (20-2-1) as Masvidal has been forced to withdraw from the bout due to a back injury.

Parke however has found an immediate replacement in the American Top Team fighter Gleison Tibau (30-10). The 31-year-old Brazilian has emerged victorious in four of his last five bouts and is coming off a narrow split decision win over Piotr Hallman. Fighting for the UFC since 2006, Tibau is a tough challenge for any up and coming prospect.

TUF smashes winner Parke has been on a tear through the MMA world since 2010, picking up 10 wins and one draw. Northern Ireland's 27-year-old prodigy is moving gradually up the lightweight ranks, but he took a painful setback when a knee injury forced him out of UFC 180. A win for Parke on his return will firmly establish him as one the divisions contenders, with the addition of this bout UFC Fight Night 59 now includes:

Conor McGregor vs. Dennis Siver
Benson Henderson vs. Eddie Alvarez
Costas Philippou vs. Uriah Hall
Gleison Tibau vs. Norman Parke
John Howard vs. Lorenz Larkin
Patrick Holohan vs. Shane Howell
Cathal Pendred vs. Sean Spencer
Paul Felder vs. Johnny Case
Tateki Matsuda vs. Joby Sanchez
Zhang Lipeng vs. Chris Wade
Matt Van Buren vs. Sean O'Connell

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