Raoni
Barcelos will step in for Jack Shore
and lock horns with Khalid Taha
at
UFC on ESPN 17 on Nov. 7.
Multiple outlets confirmed the change after Taha announced the new
bout on his Instagram account. Shore was forced to withdraw from
the contest due to visa issues. UFC on ESPN 17 takes place at the
UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a light heavyweight clash
between Thiago
Santos and Glover
Teixeira.
A former Resurrection Fighting Alliance champion, Barcelos has
kicked off his promotional tenure with four consecutive triumphs.
Most recently, the 33-year-old Brazilian outpointed Said
Nurmagomedov at UFC Fight Night 165 on Dec. 21.
Taha’s most recent victory over Bruno Silva
was overturned to a no contest when Taha tested positive for a
diuretic. Taha’s one-year suspension ended in October. Prior to
that, the Dortmund, Germany, native lost a decision to Nad
Narimani in his promotional debut at UFC Fight Night 134 before
knocking out Boston
Salmon in 25 seconds at UFC 236.