Two matchups for UFC’s January 22nd pay-per-view event have seen a recent change in opponent. The fights joined a card that is set to happen at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, USA.
Spivac To Replace Oleinik In Fight Against Hardy
Veteran fighter Aleksei Oleinik has reportedly been pulled from his heavyweight bout against Greg Hardy due to undisclosed reasons. Taking his place will be Serghei Spivac, per reporter Ariel Helwani.
Hardy will be attempting to break a two-fight losing streak. He was stopped in just over a minute in his last fight, being finished by Tai Tuivasa in July.
Spivac is also coming off a loss, having been stopped by Tom Aspinall in September. He had a strong three-fight winning streak in place before then.
Oleinik will now have to wait for his next fight. His next appearance will see him attempt to end a three-fight skid that he has taken over the past two years.
Jourdain Steps In To Face Topuria
Featherweight Charles Jourdain has agreed to step in to face undefeated Ilia Topuria at UFC 270. The fight has been verbally agreed upon and is in the process of being finalized, per Ariel Helwani.
It was reported yesterday that Topuria’s previous opponent, Movsar Evloev, had withdrawn from the fight.
The fight is a quick turnaround for Jourdain, as he fought just last month and scored a dominant victory over Andre Ewell. That victory put him back into the win column after suffering a submission loss in September.
Topuria has earned three victories since joining the promotion in 2020. He gave Ryan Hall his first UFC loss a few months back, putting him away within a round due to strikes.
Updated Lineup
The rapidly changing UFC 270 still has a heavyweight title fight between Francis Ngannou and Ciryl Gane set for the main event. Here is how the card looks now:
Bout 12: Francis Ngannou (16-3) vs. Ciryl Gane (10-0) (UFC Heavyweight Championship)
Bout 11: Brandon Moreno (19-5-2) vs. Deiveson Figueiredo (20-2-1) (UFC Flyweight Champion)
Bout 10: Rodolfo Vieira (8-1) vs. Wellington Turman (17-5) (Middleweight)
Bout 9: Cody Stamann (19-4-1) vs. Said Nurmagomedov (14-2) (Bantamweight)
Bout 8: Michael Morales (12-0) vs. Trevin Giles (14-3) (Welterweight)
Bout 7: Matt Frevola (8-3-1) vs. Genaro Valdez (10-0) (Lightweight)
Bout 6: Tony Gravely (21-7) vs. Saimon Oliveira (18-3) (Bantamweight)
Bout 5: Jasmine Jasudavicius (6-1) vs. Kay Hansen (7-4) (Flyweight)
Bout 4: Raoni Barcelos (16-2) vs. Victor Henry (21-5) (Bantamweight)
Bout 3: Michel Pereira (26-11) vs. Andre Fialho (14-3) (Welterweight)
Bout 2: Greg Hardy (7-4) vs. Serghei Spivac (13-3) (Heavyweight)
Bout 1: Charles Jourdain (12-4-1) vs. Ilia Topuria (11-0) (Featherweight)
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