Francisco Rivera Replaces Briones, Meets Brad Pickett at UFC Fight Night London

Francisco Rivera has replaced the injured Enrique Briones and will clash with Brad Pickett at UFC Fight Night London on Feb. 27.

Promotion officials announced the change in the bantamweight bout on Friday. UFC Fight Night takes place at the O2 Arena in London and is headlined by a middleweight showdown between Anderson Silva and Michael Bisping. The card airs in its entirety on UFC Fight Pass.

Rivera, 34, has lost three of his last four Octagon appearances, with his lone victory during that time coming via 21-second knockout against Alex Caceres at UFC Fight Night “Boetsch vs. Henderson” on June 6. Most recently, “Cisco” was submitted by John Lineker in the opening stanza at UFC 191.

Meanwhile, Pickett will attempt to halt a three-bout skid when he faces Rivera. After a 1-2 stint at 125 pounds, “One Punch” returned to bantamweight at UFC 189, where he suffered a second-round knockout loss to rising Brazilian prospect Thomas Almeida.