Loveland (photo courtesy Team Quest)

By FCF Staff

Tachi Palace Fights has announced today that UFC veteran Ian Loveland will fight Alex Crispim at its upcoming May 10^th event instead of Francisco Rivera.

While the reason for the switch was not presented by TPF, according to multiple reports, Rivera is returning to the UFC to replace Azamat Gashimov versus Alex Soto, which was scheduled for the May 15^th UFC on FUEL 3 card.

The UFC has not made any official announcement regarding the reported change, which was first relayed by Sherdog.com.

Loveland (14-9) is coming off back-to-back losses to Jospeh Benavidez and most recently Yves Jabouin in the Octagon, after earning a unanimous decision win over Tyler Toner in his UFC debut last December.

Crispim (7-3) lost by unanimous decision to Andre Fili in his last outing while competing for Cage Combat Fighting Championships in March, which ended the bantamweight’s four fight win streak.

TPF 13 will be hosted by the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino in Lemoore, California and will feature Joe Soto versus Chad George in the main event.