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Ante Delija
will make his Octagon debut against Ciryl Gane
at
UFC Fight Night 180.
Delija will serve as a replacement for Shamil
Abdurakhimov, who withdrew from the bout for undisclosed
reasons. French outlet La Sueur was
first to report the new heavyweight pairing. UFC Fight Night 180
takes place on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi on Oct. 17 and is headlined
by a featherweight scrap between Brian
Ortega and Chan Sung
Jung.
A native of Dubrovnik, Croatia, the 30-year-old Delija has compiled
a 17-3 record since beginning his professional career in 2011. He
has competed for organizations such as M-1 Global, Rizin,
Professional Fighters League and KSW during his MMA tenure. In his
last outing, “Walking Trouble” earned a second-round TKO against
Oli
Thompson at KSW 51.
Gane, meanwhile, has been victorious in his first six professional
outings — including three in the UFC. After submitting Raphael
Pessoa and Don’Tale Mayes in his first two promotional
appearances, “Bon Gamin” outpointed Tanner
Boser at UFC Fight Night 165 on Dec. 21.
