It took Tyson Nam 28 fights, but he can finally call himself a member of the UFC roster.
Hawaii’s Nam (18-9-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will make his promotional debut at UFC on ESPN+ 17, when he steps in for the injured Alex Perez against Sergio Pettis (17-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC).
MMA Junkie confirmed the bout after the UFC Español Twitter account tweeted news of the fight Tuesday.
The 35-year-old fighter has competed as a professional for over 13 years. His career stretches back to Feb. 2006. He has competed all over the globe for numerous promotions, most notably World Series of Fighting, Fight Nights Global, and Elite XC.
Since he lost four-straight fights from 2013-14, Nam has been on one of the most successful runs of his career. Stretching back to 2015, Nam has won seven of eight fights. In April 2017, Nam captured attention when he knocked out former UFC title challenger Ali Bagautinov with one second left in their three-round affair at FNG 64.
His opponent, Pettis, will look to snap a two-fight losing streak. After he defeated Joseph Benavidez at UFC 225 in June 2018, Pettis dropped decisions to Jussier Formiga and Rob Font.
The Roufusport product was expected to take on Ricardo Ramos at UFC on ESPN 3 in June, but an injury forced Pettis out of the bout.
UFC on ESPN+ 17 takes place Sept. 21 at Arena Ciudad de Mexico in Mexico City. The card streams on ESPN+.
The current UFC on ESPN+ 17 lineup is as follows:
- Yair Rodriguez vs. Jeremy Stephens
- Askar Askarov vs. Brandon Moreno
- Sergio Pettis vs. Tyson Nam
- Carlos Huachin vs. Jose Quinonez
- Carla Esparza vs. Alexa Grasso
- Irene Aldana vs. Marion Reneau
- Paul Craig vs. Vinicius Moreira
- Angela Hill vs. Istela Nunes
- Bethe Correia vs. Sijara Eubanks
- Martin Bravo vs. Steven Peterson
- Kyle Nelson vs. Marco Polo Reyes
