Just days out from this Saturday’s UFC Vegas 86, three fighters on the card have seen their opponents change.
Promotion officials recently announced the following modifications to the Fight Night card, which takes place Saturday, February 10, 2024 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas:
- Albert Duraev has been removed from his middleweight bout with Robert Bryczek. Replacing Duraev will be Ihor Potieria.
- Damir Hadzovic has been removed from his lightweight bout with Balaji Oki. Replacing Hadzovic will be Dana White’s Contender Series alum Timothy Cuamba.
In both cases, visa issues are reportedly to blame. One more line-up change was also revealed:
- Additionally, due to injury, Melsik Baghdasaryan has been removed from his featherweight bout with Hyder Amil. Replacing Baghdasaryan will be Fernie Garcia.
Potieria (20-5) is a 2022 Dana White’s Contender Series winner who is 1-3 in his four fights inside the octagon, and coming off back-to-back losses against Carlos Ulberg and Rodolfo Bellato. The Ukrainian’s lone win under the UFC banner came against the legendary Shogun Rua, but he finds himself in must-win territory this weekend.
Cuamba (8-1), a 2023 Contender Series alum, will be taking on Bokaji Oki, a fellow 2023 Contender Series winner with an identical 8-1 record.
As for Fernie Garcia, he is unquestionably fighting for his job after starting his UFC run at 0-3. Opponent Hyder Amil is an undefeated 8-0 coming into the fight.
UFC Vegas 86, headlined by middleweights Jack Hermansson and Joe Pyfer, now features the following reported match-ups:
- Jack Hermansson vs. Joe Pyfer
- Dan Ige vs. Andre Fili
- Robert Bryczek vs. Ihor Potieria
- Brad Tavares vs. Gregory Rodrigues
- Michael Johnson vs. Darrius Flowers
- Rodolfo Vieira vs. Armen Petrosyan
- Trevin Giles vs. Carlos Prates
- Timothy Cuamba vs. Bolaji Oki
- Loma Lookboonmee vs. Bruna Brasil
- Devin Clark vs. Marcin Prachnio
- Max Griffin vs. Jeremiah Wells
- Zac Pauga vs. Bogdan Guskov
- Fernie Garcia vs. Hyder Amil
- Daniel Marcos vs. Aori Qileng
