Middleweights Dricus Du Plessis and Anthony Hernandez have been paired up for UFC’s April 9th pay-per-view event after both of their previously scheduled matchups fell through. This major change to the lineup was first reported by Mike Heck of MMA Fighting.
The new pairing has joined UFC 273, which is expected to take place at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida, USA.
Du Plessis was first expected to face fellow rising talent Chris Curtis, who was coming off his second UFC victory.
Du Plessis has yet to lose in the UFC cage through two fights as well. His last fight was in July 2021, scoring a second-round stoppage win against Trevin Giles.
The new matchup is set to be Hernandez’s first appearance in over a year. His last fight was a massive upset win, submitting Rodolfo Vieira at UFC 258 in early 2021.
Hernandez was first set to meet Albert Duraev in April.
UFC 273 is currently set to be headlined by a featherweight title fight between Alexander Volkanovski and The Korean Zombie. Here’s how the show looks now:
Bout 13: Alexander Volkanovski (23-1) vs. The Korean Zombie (17-6) (UFC Featherweight Championship)
Bout 12: Aljamain Sterling (20-3) vs. Petr Yan (16-2) (UFC Bantamweight Championship)
Bout 11: Irene Aldana (13-6) vs. Aspen Ladd (9-2) (Bantamweight)
Bout 10: Pat Sabatini (16-3) vs. Gavin Tucker (13-2) (Featherweight)
Bout 9: Mickey Gall (7-4) vs. Mike Malott (7-1-1) (Welterweight)
Bout 8: Jairzinho Rozenstruick (12-3) vs. Marcin Tybura (22-7) (Heavyweight)
Bout 7: Mackenzie Dern (11-2) vs. Tecia Torres (13-5) (Strawweight)
Bout 6: Kelvin Gastelum (17-8) vs. Nassourdine Imavov (11-3) (Middleweight)
Bout 5: Vinc Pichel (14-2) vs. Mark O. Madsen (11-0) (Lightweight)
Bout 4: Piera Rodriguez (7-0) vs. Kay Hansen (7-5) (Strawweight)
Bout 3: Ian Garry (8-0) vs. Darian Weeks (5-1) (Welterweight)
Bout 2: Gilbert Burns (20-4) vs. Khamzat Chimaev (10-0) (Welterweight)
Bout 1: Dricus Du Plessis (16-2) vs. Anthony Hernandez (8-2) (Middleweight)
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