The UFC brought in Gustavo Lopez as a replacement for Ray Borg for this weekend’s event. However, following the announcement, there seemed signs of a dispute with Combate Americas. Lopez fought in the organization before coming to the UFC. Amidst all this, Dana White says that he was in the dark regarding the whole situation.
via Imago
(Picture credits: MMAJunkie.com)
While talking to the media after the weigh-ins, a reporter asked Dana if he had talked to Combate Americas CEO Campbell McLaren. Following UFC’s announcement of bringing in Lopez as a replacement, Campbell tweeted that it was a bad move. Lopez’s contract with Combate had already expired. However, the organization held the right to match any new contract that the fighter received.
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Bad move from @Gustavo11Lopez he’s under contract with @combateamericas
— Campbell McLaren (@campbellcombate) June 11, 2020
Veteran MMA manager and CEO of Dominance MMA, Ali Abdelaziz, criticized Combate for taking away a young man’s dream. He also asked fighters not to sign a contract with the promotion.
Nobody should ever sign a contract with @combateamericas taking away a young mans dream. @Gustavo11Lopez
— Ali Abdelaziz (@AliAbdelaziz00) June 11, 2020
Dana White had no clue about the situation with Gustavo Lopez’s contract
Dana White said that he didn’t know anything about the entire fiasco. He seemed frustrated as he was kept in the dark.
“I don’t know anything about it. Why the f–k would nobody tell me that one? I’m actually very f—ing pissed off that I didn’t know about it,” Dana said.
It was later revealed that the person at fault was Lopez’s manager, Daniel Rubenstein. He confessed his mistake on Twitter. Furthermore, he asked Combate for the release of the Bantamweight so that he can fight this weekend.
As a manager, I have made a mistake and @combateamericas does indeed have matching right to @Gustavo11Lopez and I have officially requested his release for him to fight this weekend in the UFC in Las Vegas. @campbellcombate
— Daniel Rubenstein (@dannyrube) June 11, 2020
CEO McLaren later agreed to Rubenstein’s demands. He announced on Twitter that he was going ahead and allowing Lopez to fight this weekend.
Combate Americas has decided to allow @Gustavo11Lopez to move forward and fight in the UFC this Saturday night. We wish him the best of luck with the rest of his career
— Campbell McLaren (@campbellcombate) June 11, 2020
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After the release, Abdelaziz took back his words. He also commended Campbell on the release of Gustavo Lopez.
Good job releasing the kid I take back what I said congratulations @Gustavo11Lopez https://t.co/1huzk3j2Pf
— Ali Abdelaziz (@AliAbdelaziz00) June 11, 2020
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Lopez has been with Combate for almost five years. He was the Bantamweight champ in the division apart from riding a three-fight win streak. He will face Merab Dvalishvili this weekend on UFC on ESPN 10 at the UFC Apex center in Las Vegas. Dvalishvili originally planned on fighting Ray Borg. However, the latter was removed from the card due to personal reasons.
He posted a picture of his son on Twitter with the caption, “Family first, see you soon.” Borg’s son has been going through complications since his birth.
