Chris
Barnett will replace Justin Tafa
and square off against Kennedy
Nzechukwu at UFC
308.
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The promotion announced the new heavyweight booking during the
UFC Vegas 98 broadcast on Saturday night. A reason for Tafa’s
withdrawal was not given. Barnett was originally slated to fight at
UFC Vegas 98 but was unable to compete due to Hurricane Milton.
UFC 308 takes place on Oct. 26 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi and is
headlined by a featherweight championship clash between Ilia
Topuria and Max
Holloway.
The 38-year-old Barnett will be making his first Octagon appearance
since September 2022 after having multiple bouts fall through over
the course of the past two years. In his last outing, “Huggy Bear”
scored a second-round TKO victory against Jake
Collier at UFC 279. Barnett is 2-2 during his UFC tenure
overall.
After competing 11 times at 205 pounds in the Las Vegas-based
promotion, Nzechukwu will move to heavyweight for the first time.
The Fortis MMA product is coming off back-to-back losses against
Ovince St.
Preux and Dustin
Jacoby.