UFC appears to have quickly found a replacement for the cancelled Marvin Vettori vs Ismail Naurdiev bout at the upcoming event in Baku.
As reported by İdman.Biz, MMA insider Steve Duncan revealed on social media that UFC Fight Night Baku has added a featherweight contest between Kaan Ofli and Javier Reyes.
Ofli represents Australia but has Turkish roots. The 32-year-old fighter was born in Melbourne and competes in the UFC under the nickname “Genghis”. His opponent Javier Reyes represents Colombia.
It was previously confirmed that Marvin Vettori withdrew from the Baku card due to injury. The Italian middleweight was scheduled to face Ismail Naurdiev but suffered a rib injury during training and will not be able to compete on 27 June.
UFC has not yet officially confirmed whether Naurdiev will remain on the card with a new opponent or if his bout will be postponed. There is also a possibility that the promotion could reschedule the Naurdiev vs Vettori fight for a future event.
UFC Fight Night Baku will take place on 27 June at the National Gymnastics Arena. The main event of the evening will feature Rafael Fiziev taking on Manuel Torres in a lightweight showdown.
Provisional main card:
Lightweight: Rafael Fiziev (Azerbaijan) vs Manuel Torres (Mexico)
Middleweight: Sharabutdin Magomedov (Russia) vs Michel Pereira (Brazil)
Middleweight: Ikram Aliskerov (Russia) vs Brunno Ferreira (Brazil)
Flyweight: Asu Almabayev (Kazakhstan) vs Charles Johnson (USA)
Middleweight: Michal Oleksiejczuk (Poland) vs Abusupiyan Magomedov (Germany)
Middleweight: Ismail Naurdiev (Austria) vs opponent to be confirmed
Preliminary card:
Heavyweight: Rizvan Kuniev (Russia) vs Tyrell Fortune (USA)
Middleweight: Nursulton Ruziboev (Uzbekistan) vs Andrey Pulyaev (Russia)
Light heavyweight: Julius Walker (USA) vs Abdul-Rakhman Yakhyaev (Turkey)
Bantamweight: Bekzat Almakhan (Kazakhstan) vs Jean Matsumoto (Brazil)
Welterweight: Daniil Donchenko (Ukraine) vs Andreas Gustafsson (Sweden)
Lightweight: Nazim Sadykhov (Azerbaijan) vs Mateus Camilo (Brazil)
Welterweight: Farman Hasanov (Azerbaijan) vs Eric Nolan (USA)
Featherweight: Kaan Ofli (Australia) vs Javier Reyes (Colombia)
It should be noted that the final fight order may still change closer to the event.
