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Makwan
Amirkhani will step in for Sodiq
Yusuff and face Edson
Barboza at
UFC Fight Night 179.
Combate
was first to report the change to the featherweight bout. A reason
for Yusuff’s withdrawal is currently unknown. UFC Fight Night 179
takes place on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi on Oct. 10 and is headlined
by a bantamweight showdown between Marlon
Moraes and Cory
Sandhagen.
Amirkhani, 31, enters the matchup with Barboza having won three of
his last four Octagon appearances. Most recently, “Mr. Finland”
scored a first-round submission of Danny Henry
at UFC 251 on July 11.
Barboza made his featherweight debut at UFC on ESPN 8, where he
dropped a closely-contested split decision against Dan Ige on May
16. The 34-year-old Brazilian has lost five of his last six
promotional outings, with his only win during that stretch coming
in a lopsided beating of Dan Hooker at
UFC on Fox 31 in December 2018.
