Jason Jackson Replaces Injured Neiman Gracie, Meets Kiichi Kunimoto at Bellator 236

An injury to Neiman Gracie has resulted in a last-minute change to the Bellator 236 card.

Jason Jackson will replace Gracie and meet Kiichi Kunimoto at Bellator 236. Sherdog.com confirmed the new bout with a promotion official following an initial report from MMAjunkie.com. Bellator 236 takes place on Dec. 21 at Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu and is headlined by a women’s flyweight championship clash between Ilima-Lei Macfarlane and Kate Jackson.

According to MMAFighting.com, Gracie suffered a broken hand in training 10 days before his proposed clash with Kunimoto. Gracie is coming off his first career defeat, a decision setback to Rory MacDonald in the semifinals of the welterweight grand prix at Bellator 222.

The 29-year-old Jackson is coming off a split-decision loss to Ed Ruth at Bellator 231 this past October. “The Ass Kicking Machine” has compiled a 10-4 record while competing for Dana White’s Contender Series, Legacy Fighting Alliance and Victory Fighting Championship.

A five-time UFC veteran, Kunimoto also fell to Ruth in his last outing, as he suffered a TKO defeat in his promotional debut at Bellator 224.