Junior Assuncao Transplanted to Legacy FC 20; Drysdale-Linderman Booked for Legacy FC 19

The 31-year-old Brazil native will not compete on April 12 against Chris Jones as expected. Instead, Assuncao will fight at Legacy FC 20, which takes place May 31 in Corpus Christi, Texas. Jones will now square off with Rey Trujillo at Legacy FC 19 from Allen Event Center in Dallas.

Assuncao was initially expected to debut for the promotion in August, but that booking was scrapped due to a recurring elbow injury. The fighter’s health was not the cause of this recent delay, however, as promoter Mick Maynard told Sherdog.com that he requested Assuncao move his fight date in order to create space on the April 12 main card for a light heavyweight showdown between Robert Drysdale and D.J. Linderman. According to Maynard, Drysdale will soon be traveling to Australia, and Maynard preferred to book the submission expert prior to his trip Down Under. Assuncao’s Legacy FC 20 opponent has not yet been named.

Known for his superior Brazilian jiu-jitsu skills, Drysdale has won gold at both the Mundials and the ADCC submission wrestling championship. The light heavyweight made his pro debut in 2010 and rattled off three straight wins before earning a pair of triumphs under the Legacy banner, most recently finishing Chris Reed with a first-round armbar on Nov. 16.

Linderman returns to competition for the first time since suffering a devastating knockout at the hands of ex-UFC talent Anthony Johnson, who starched “Da Protege” at the World Series of Fighting’s debut event on Nov. 3. A Season 4 light heavyweight tournament semifinalist with Bellator, Linderman posted a 3-1 record to start 2012 before running into “Rumble” to close out last year.