Aleksei Oleinik vs. Alistair Overeem is the new main event for UFC Fight Night St. Petersburg on April 20, per sources. Overeem’s original opponent Alexander Volkov recently withdrew. Oleinik was scheduled to fight Walt Harris on 5/4. Harris will get a new foe.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) April 3, 2019
Alexey Oleynik will now co-headline UFC Fight Night in St. Petersburg on April 20 against Alistair Overeem after Alexander Volkov was forced off the card. The reason for his removal from the bill in currently unknown.
Oleynik and Overeem are Top-10-ranked in Sherdog’s official mixed martial arts heavyweight rankings and both are coming off wins; Oleynik last saw action in a submission win over Mark Hunt in September and Overeem put away Sergei Pavlovich in November.
Oleynik was slated to lock horns with Walt Harris on May 4 at UFC Fight Night 150. Harris is now expected to receive a new opponent.
UFC St. Petersburg, also known as UFC Fight Night 149 or UFC on ESPN + 7, goes down April 20 at Yubileyny Sports Complex in St. Petersburg, Russia.