Mark Godbeer (pictured) has a new opponent for UFC 209.
Godbeer was originally set to go one-on-one with Todd Duffee at UFC 209 on March 4 inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. It wasn’t meant to be as “The Hand of” revealed Duffee had been pulled from the event for unknown reasons. Godbeer claimed he’d still be on the card and he wasn’t lying.
Sources close to the situation told MMAFighting.com that Daniel Spitz has stepped in to replace Duffee.
Spitz has a professional mixed martial arts (MMA) record of 5-0. He was last seen in action against Colton Vaughn at a King of the Cage (KOTC) event back in Nov. 2016. Spitz earned a TKO victory in a matter of seconds. Spitz was going to compete on another KOTC card against Matt Howell last night, but he pulled out in favor of making his Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) debut.
In his five professional outings, Spitz has only gone the distance once. That was against former UFC heavyweight Wesley Correira, better known as “Cabbage.” Spitz has finished the rest of his fights by first-round stoppage. He’s earned three submissions and a TKO.
Godbeer is a former BAMMA heavyweight title holder. His three-fight winning streak earned him a UFC contract. His first trip to the Octagon didn’t go as he hoped it would. He was submitted by undefeated prospect Justin Ledet in the opening round.
Before the bout, Godbeer hadn’t suffered a loss since Oct. 2013. In that contest, he met former UFC fighter Cheick Kongo at Bellator 102. Kongo finished Godbeer in the second round by TKO.
UFC 209 will be headlined by a welterweight title rematch between champion Tyron Woodley and Stephen Thompson. The co-main event will also feature a championship bout. Lightweights Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson are going to compete for the interim 155-pound gold.
