An undisclosed injury has forced John Makdessi to withdraw from his UFC 162 scrap against Edson Barboza (pictured). No need to fret, Rafaello Oliveira has agreed to step in on July 6 to battle Barboza.
UFC officials announced the switheroo early Friday morning.
Barboza was quickly making his way up the UFC’s steep lightweight totem pole before getting TKO’d by Jamie Varner at UFC 146. The 27-year-old had won his first 10 pro bouts prior to the upset special.
The Brazilian rebounded nicely by submitting Lucas Martins (via punches) in January.
Oliveira’s UFC career got off to a rocky start when he dropped his first two big league bouts. “Tractor” bounced back to beat Yoislandy Izquierdo last July.
He was supposed to return to action in December, but has been sidelined with a broken hand.
The 155-pound affair will appear in the night’s prelims.
MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada hosts the festivities.
Here is the show’s revised roster:
Preliminary Card:
(Facebook 6:35PM ET/3:35PM PT)
Mike Pierce vs. David Mitchell
Seth Baczynski vs. Brian Melancon
Shane Del Rosario vs. Dave Herman
(FX 8PM ET/5PM PT)
Edson Barboza vs. Rafaello Oliveira
Norman Parke vs. Kazuki Tokudome
Chris Leben vs. Andrew Craig
Mark Munoz vs. Tim Boetsch
Main Card:
(Pay-Per-View 10PM ET/7PM PT)
Cub Swanson vs. Dennis Siver
Ricardo Lamas vs. “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung
Roger Gracie vs. Tim Kennedy
Frankie Edgar vs. Charles Oliveira
Chris Weidman vs. Anderson Silva (UFC middleweight champion)
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