Brendan Allen has a new opponent at UFC on ESPN 31 next month.
On Thursday, Fight Bananas was first to report that Roman Dolidze would be stepping in to replace Brad Tavares in the middleweight fight. Allen himself confirmed the news on the podcast.
Dolidze had been expected to fight Kyle Daukaus at UFC Vegas 42 this past weekend, but a COVID-19 positive scrapped that bout. Instead, he’ll return just a few weeks out, in what should be a promising middleweight contest.
No reason for Tavares’ withdrawal has been given.
Allen (17-4), a former LFA middleweight champion, has posted a 5-1 record inside the octagon since joining the promotion via Dana White’s Contender Series in 2019. In his past two fights, he’s posted wins against Karl Roberson and Punahele Soriano.
Georgia’s Dolidze (9-1) is 3-1 inside the UFC to date. After winning two fights at light heavyweight, he dropped down to 185lbs and has gone 1-1 since. He’ll enter the fight with Allen off a win over Laureano Staropoli.
UFC on ESPN 31 takes place December 4, 2021 at the Apex in Las Vegas. A bantamweight fight between contenders Rob Font and Jose Aldo is set to headline the card. The following bouts have been reported for the event:
Rob Font vs. José Aldo
Brad Riddell vs. Rafael Fiziev
Jimmy Crute vs. Jamahal Hill
Manel Kape vs. Zhalgas Zhumagulov
Jake Matthews vs. Jeremiah Wells
Chris Gruetzemacher vs. Claudio Puelles
Bryan Barberena vs. Matt Brown
Louis Smolka vs. Vince Morales
Clay Guida vs. Leonardo Santos
Alex Morono vs. Mickey Gall
Maki Pitolo vs. Duško Todorović
Philipe Lins vs. Azamat Murzakanov
Mallory Martin vs. Cheyanne Buys
Brendan Allen vs. Roman Dolidze
