Veach Replaces McKee, Meets Fickett in MFC 28 Co-Main Event

Sherdog.com StaffFeb 21, 2011
Matt Veach (right) will fight on short notice at MFC 28. | Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com



UFC veteran Matt Veach will step in for sidelined Maximum Fighting Championship lightweight titleholder Antonio McKee to face Drew Fickett in the co-main event of MFC 28 “Supremacy.”

The promotion on Sunday announced that McKee suffered a knee injury in training and will be unable to defend his title at the event, which takes place Feb. 25 at the River Cree Resort and Casino in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Fickett and Veach have agreed to meet at a catchweight of 160 pounds.

“I’m disappointed not to be facing McKee for the title, but it’s only a matter of time until I get my hands on the MFC lightweight belt,” Fickett stated in a release.

A member of Matt HughesH.I.T. Squad, Veach enters his matchup with Fickett on a four-fight win streak. The 29-year-old Illinoisan has not lost since being released by the UFC in April 2010 on the heels of back-to-back submission losses to Frankie Edgar and Paul Kelly, the only defeats on his 14-2 ledger.

In October, Veach captured the lightweight title of U.K.-based organization Cage Warriors Fighting Championship with a five-round decision over Kenneth Rosfort-Nees. Following the Fickett bout, Veach is scheduled to defend his strap April 2 against Norman Parke at CWFC 41 in Cork, Ireland.

The resurgent Fickett, 31, also rides a four-fight streak into the fight. After a disastrous 2009 which saw him go 0-5, the “Night Rider” reversed course with a 4-0 2010. Three of those wins came on Sept. 10, when Fickett submitted Charles Bennett, Dennis Bermudez and Carlo Prater to win Shine Fights’ one-night lightweight grand prix. Fickett holds a lengthy professional record of 40-13, including wins against the likes of Josh Koscheck, Kenny Florian and Kurt Pellegrino.