UFC’s October 24th pay-per-view event is looking to add a welterweight bout, as a matchup between Elizeu Zaleski and Shavkat Rakhmonov has been eyed for the card. News of the pairing was first reported on Friday by Marcelo Barone of Combate.
Rakhmonov, the former M-1 Welterweight Champion, will make his UFC debut after his previous bookings were cancelled. After his March fight against Bartosz Fabinski was cancelled due to COVID-19, his matchup in July against Ramazan Emeev was also thrown out after he withdrew.
Undefeated as a pro, Rakhmonov will look for his 13th win in October.
Zaleski will aim to bounce back from a loss in his 12th UFC fight. His last fight was a split decision loss, not being favoured by judges over Muslim Salikhov. He has one win from 2020, as he defeated Alexey Kunchenko in March.
October’s UFC 254 pay-per-view now has 10 fights in total projected for it. Here’s the lineup, which features a lightweight unification bout. While not officially announced yet, UFC 254 is scheduled to be part of a series of events on UFC’s “Fight Island” on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Bout 10: Khabib Nurmagomedov (28-0) vs. Justin Gaethje (22-2) (UFC Lightweight Championship)
Bout 9: Robert Whittaker (21-5) vs. Jared Cannonier (13-4) (Middleweight)
Bout 8: Alexander Volkov (31-8) vs. Walt Harris (13-8) (Heavyweight)
Bout 7: Cynthia Calvillo (9-1-1) vs. Lauren Murphy (13-4) (Flyweight)
Bout 6: Rafael dos Anjos (29-13) vs. Islam Makhachev (18-1) (Lightweight)
Bout 5: Umar Nurmagomedov (12-0) vs. Sergey Morozov (16-3) (Bantamweight)
Bout 4: Da Un Jung (13-2) vs. Sam Alvey (33-14) (Light Heavyweight)
Bout 3: Liana Jojua (8-3) vs. Miranda Maverick (7-2) (Flyweight)
Bout 2: Magomed Ankalaev (13-1) vs. Ion Cutelaba (15-5) (Light Heavyweight)
Bout 1: Elizeu Zaleski (22-7) vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov (12-0) (Welterweight)
