Report: Tim Means replacing Robbie Lawler to fight Mike Perry at UFC 255

It appears that Mike Perry (14-6-0) is getting his wish to remain on the UFC 255 card in a welterweight fight, after all. 

ESPN's Ariel Helwani has reported that mixed martial arts veteran Tim Means (30-12-1, one no contest) is replacing Robbie Lawler (28-15-0, 1 NC) to fight Perry at the UFC 255 show held on Nov. 21 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. 

Lawler withdrew from the card last week due to an unspecified injury. 

As has been the case since the spring, fans will not be permitted to attend the event due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

Means won two of his last three fights, the most recent being a victory over Laureano Staropoli via unanimous decision in August. The 36-year-old will be competing in the Octagon for the third time this year. 

Perry, meanwhile, ended a two-match losing streak when he defeated Mickey Gall in June in a fight that featured the 29-year-old cornered only by his girlfriend. Soon after that win, a video of Perry punching an older man in the face and using racist language while at a bar in Lubbock, Texas, went public and led to some fans and observers calling for the UFC to release him. 

Per Helwani, Perry underwent a 30-day "intensive" anger management program following that incident that resulted in the UFC bringing him back before the end of the year.