The lineup for the next Ultimate Fighting Championship pay-per-view is
practically changing day by day.
On Thursday night,
BJPenn.com reported that Ramiz
Brahimaj (10-4) had been forced out of his welterweight scrap
with Michael
Morales (13-0) on UFC 277. Per Brahimaj on his Instagram on Friday,
he suffered an injury that will keep him out of action for the
foreseeable future. A replacement has not yet been found, but the
UFC is looking for someone to step in. This follows the
news on Wednesday where Diego
Ferreira – the teammate of Brahimaj – and Mariya
Agapova withdrew from this July 30 event.
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“Breaks my heart to have to confirm that I am off UFC Dallas due to
an injury,” Brahimaj wrote. “Unfortunately these injuries can
happen during fight prep. I will rehab, and come back stronger.
Thank you to Sean Shelby, Mick Maynard, Dana White, and the
phenomenal medical/sports medicine team that is helping me to get
back to 100 percent [of Heather Linden and Clint Wattenberg from
the UFC Performance Institute]. Thank you for the continued love
and support see you very soon.”
Brahimaj was looking to break an alternating win-loss pattern that
dates back to 2018, across nine fights and including his full UFC
tenure. The Fortis MMA product made his debut in 2020, only to bow
out against Max Griffin
due to a doctor stoppage when his ear split in half from Griffin’s
elbows. Since then, he has won two of three, with submissions of
Sasha
Palatnikov and Micheal
Gillmore to his credit, and he still maintains a 100%
submission rate as a pro.
The unbeaten Morales will hope to remain on the event and try to
lift his spotless record to 14-0 against a short-notice adversary.
The 22-year-old picked up a contract on the 2021 season of Dana White’s Contender Series by taking a
decision over Nikolay
Veretennikov, and he made good on that by debuting in January
and knocking out Trevin
Giles in the first round. While his finish rate is not as high
as his former foe’s, the Ecuador native does celebrate 85% of his
victories by stoppage.
Additionally, news broke on Thursday night that Drakkar
Klose (12-2-1) has a new opponent, following Ferreira’s injury
reported on Wednesday. The news first coming from reporter Alex
Behunin on Twitter, Klose will now be facing Rafa Garcia
(13-2) in an exciting lightweight clash. Both Klose and Garcia confirmed
this on their respective Instagram pages.
The two fighters, each with 15 pro bouts of experience, present
drastically different styles. Klose has never before registered a
submission – and never been submitted, as well – while Garcia’s
preferred method of victory is by tapout. Klose bounced back from a
thrilling knockout loss to Beneil
Dariush in 2020 by knocking out Brandon
Jenkins in April. On the other hand, Garcia has won two
straight, most recently on the same event as Klose-Jenkins, where
he hit a rear-naked choke on Jesse
Ronson.
ESPN
Deportes announced late Thursday night that Ignacio
Bahamondes (13-4) would no longer be competing at UFC 277 as
well, as the fighter is reportedly in Chile and suffering from visa
issues that will not allow him to fight in the U.S. His foe,
Ludovit
Klein (18-4), has been shifted from that event to the UFC
London event one week prior. The lightweight will take on Mason Jones
(11-1) at UFC Fight Night 208 on July 23.
UFC 277 will go down at the American Airlines Center in Dallas on
July 30 with two belts on the line in the main card. Headlining the
show will be a high-stakes rematch between champion Julianna
Pena and ex-135-pound queen Amanda
Nunes. The other championship affair sees Brandon
Moreno take on Kai Kara
France for the interim flyweight strap. The featured fight on
the card comes at heavyweight, when Texas mainstay Derrick
Lewis squares off with Russia’s Sergei
Pavlovich.