Maximo Blanco to Face RFA Champ Luke Sanders at UFC Fight Night in Boston

Maximo Blanco has a new opponent for this month’s UFC Fight Night event in Boston.

The featherweight slugger from Venezuela is set to take on UFC newcomer Luke Sanders at the Jan. 17 event, according to a monday report from NESN.com. Blanco’s original opponent, Dennis Bermudez, was forced to withdraw from the bout in December due to a staph infection from an ingrown hair.

Headlined by a bantamweight title fight between T.J. Dillashaw and Dominick Cruz, UFC Fight Night “Dillashaw vs. Cruz” will air live on Fox Sports 1 from Boston’s TD Garden. The Blanco-Sanders matchup is expected to be part of the show’s televised preliminary card.

Blanco, 32, has bounced back from a shaky start to his UFC career by winning three in a row. The Yoshida Dojo product last saw action in July, when he needed just 16 seconds to punch out Mike de la Torre at “The Ultimate Fighter 21” finale.

Sanders, 30, comes to the UFC with a perfect record of 10-0, including six victories by way of knockout. “Cool Hand Luke” captured the vacant Resurrection Fighting Alliance bantamweight title in November 2014 and defended it once in a five-round unanimous decision over Terrion Ware last May.