It turns out Hurricane Irma's reach goes as far as Pittsburgh.
Her wrath has kept Thiago Alves in Florida, the UFC announced Thursday, and opened the door for lightweight Alex Reyes to move up to 170 pounds and face Mike Perry at UFC Fight Night 116 on Saturday. Reyes will make his promotional debut on three days' notice at PPG Paints Arena.
Perry first announced the late change to the co-main event himself Wednesday on Twitter.
A former King of the Cage lightweight champion, Reyes makes his first walk to the Octagon on a 12-fight win streak spanning well over nine years. The 30-year-old has collected every one of his scalps inside the distance, and all but two in the first round.
In just 13 months, Perry has knocked out three of four UFC foes, and most recently elbowed Jake Ellenberger into oblivion at UFC Fight Night 108 in April. Every one of the 25-year-old's professional victories have come by way of KO or TKO.
Saturday's card will be headlined by a middleweight tilt between former UFC and Strikeforce champ Luke Rockhold and former dual-division WSOF titleholder David Branch.
