Al Iaquinta

By FCF Staff

After the UFC announced that Gilbert Melendez has been suspended, the promotion said it was attempting to find a new opponent for Al Iaquinta, but apparently the lightweight will no longer fight July 15th.

On Monday, the UFC reported that Melendez has been suspended for one year, after testing positive for “exogenous origin of testosterone metabolites”, following his split decision loss to Eddie Alvarez last month. At the time, the company said it was attempting to sign a new opponent for Iaquinta, who was scheduled to fight Melendez at UFC FN 71.

Recently, however, UFC Vice President of Public Relations Dave Sholler was asked by MMA Fighting.com’s Ariel Helwani, if Iaquinta was no longer competing. Iaquinta told the commentator that he had opted to have a knee injury repaired, since Melendez cannot compete.

Correct. Ferguson vs. Thomson is new co-main. Now 12-fight card. https://t.co/GGxWhSvbUp

— Dave Sholler (@Sholler_UFC) July 6, 2015

UFC FN 71 will be hosted by the Valley View Casino Center in San Diego. In the main event, Todd Duffee will take on former heavyweight champ, Frank Mir. As Sholler noted, the co-main event is a lightweight bout between Tony Ferguson and Josh Thomson.