The UFC 273 card on April 9 has undergone a number of cosmetic changes, although ultimately, the same number of fights remain attached to the event.
With Nassourdine Imavov out due to previously reported VISA troubles, Dricus Du Plessis has been moved up to take his place against Kelvin Gastelum in a middleweight scrap.
Anthony Hernandez, who had been scheduled to face Du Plessis (and Albert Duraev before that), will instead face promotional newcomer and former LFA champ Johh Fremd.
Du Plessis himself was originally scheduled to face Chris Curtis. However Curtis was forced out of the event, with news breaking earlier this month that he had sustained a wrist injury.
Gastelum (16-8, 1NC) announced late Monday that a replacement opponent had been found, following inaccurate reports of the fight with Imavov being pushed back to a later date. ESPN was first to report Du Plessis being shifted to the fight with Gastelum.
The Ultimate Fighter 17 winner will be looking to snap a two fight skid when he takes on ex-KSW champ Du Plessis (16-2).
Hernandez (8-2) will be competing for the first time since his Submission of the Year finish against Rodolfo Vieira in February 2021.
UFC 273 takes place Saturday, April 9, 2022 at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida. The following bouts are attached to the event:
- Alexander Volkanovski (c) vs. Chan Sung Jung – for the UFC featherweight championship
- Aljamain Sterling (c) vs. Petr Yan (ic) – for the UFC bantamweight championship / title unification bout
- Gilbert Burns vs. Khamzat Chimaev
- Mackenzie Dern vs. Tecia Torres
- Ian Garry vs. Darian Weeks
- Dricus du Plessis vs. Kelvin Gastelum
- Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs. Marcin Tybura
- Mickey Gall vs. Mike Malott
- Julio Arce vs. Daniel Santos
- Mark Madsen vs. Vinc Pichel
- Piera Rodriguez vs. Kay Hansen
- Aspen Ladd vs. Raquel Pennington
- Aleksei Oleinik vs. Ilir Latifi
- Josh Fremd vs. Anthony Hernandez
