Saturday’s UFC main event has been saved, as Paul Felder will step in to face Rafael dos Anjos in a five-round lightweight fight. First reported by Brett Okamoto of ESPN, Felder will step-in for Islam Makhachev, who withdrew from the fight due to a staph infection.
The fight will main event a card scheduled to take place at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
Felder last competed in February, losing a five-round split decision to Dan Hooker. He had previously picked up two-straight wins, defeating Edson Barboza and James Vick in 2019.
The fight will be dos Anjos’ return to lightweight after an eight-fight run at welterweight. His last two fights were decision losses to Michael Chiesa and Leon Edwards.
Here’s the updated lineup with the new main event.
Bout 13: Paul Felder (17-5) vs. Rafael dos Anjos (29-13) (Lightweight)
Bout 12: Louis Smolka (16-7) vs. Jose Alberto Quinonez (8-4) (Bantamweight)
Bout 11: Kay Hansen (7-3) vs. Cory McKenna (5-1) (Strawweight)
Bout 10: Julian Marquez (7-2) vs. Saparbeg Safarov (9-3) (Middleweight)
Bout 9: Ashley Yoder (7-6) vs. Miranda Granger (7-1) (Strawweight)
Bout 8: Jeff Molina (8-2) vs. Zarrukh Adashev (3-2) (Flyweight)
Bout 7: Don’Tale Mayes (7-4) vs. Roque Martinez (15-6-2) (Heavyweight)
Bout 6: Alex Morono (17-6) vs. Rhys McKee (10-3-1) (Welterweight)
Bout 5: Tony Gravely (19-6) vs. Geraldo de Freitas (12-5) (Bantamweight)
Bout 4: Antonio Arroyo (9-3) vs. Eryk Ander (13-5) (Middleweight)
Bout 3: Abdul Razak Alhassan (10-2) vs. Khaos Williams (10-1) (Welterweight)
Bout 2: Randa Markos (10-9-1) vs. Kanako Murata (11-1) (Strawweight)
Bout 1: Brendan Allen (15-3) vs. Sean Strickland (21-3) (Middleweight)
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