Another October UFC Fight Night main event has fallen apart as Rafael Fiziev is injured and out of his Oct. 11 UFC Rio headline bout with Charles Oliveira.
Fiziev sustained an undisclosed injury during his preparations for the event, as first reported by Ag. Fight, and Oliveira confirmed to MMAFighting’s Guilherme Cruz that he does in fact need a new opponent.
The UFC has not yet made any official announcements about the change, and it has not yet been determined who Oliveira could face instead.
This news comes not long after it was announced the Oct. 18 UFC Vancouver card was getting a new featured matchup.
Oliveira is a former lightweight champion set to compete in his home country for the first time in 5.5 years. The popular Brazilian who holds the UFC record for most stoppage wins (20) and most submission wins (16) last competed there in March of 2020 when he defeated Kevin Lee at an event that did not have any fans in attendance due to COVID restrictions.
Overall, Oliveira is 6-0 in the UFC when fighting in Brazil with a combined seven performance bonuses in those wins (six Performance of the Night awards plus one Fight of the Night).
The 35-year-old has alternated wins and losses since 2022 and is coming off a devastating knockout loss to Ilia Topuria in their vacant UFC 317 title fight in June. He is currently the No. 4-ranked contender in the 155-pound division.
Mateusz Gamrot, the No. 8 lightweight contender, immediately offered to step in on short notice to face Oliveira, though it remains unclear if that matchup is something the UFC is considering at this time.
“I'm ready and hungry to jump in,” Gamrot posted on social media after Fiziev’s injury was initially reported.
The Polish fighter is 8-3 in the UFC, has won four of his past five including a decision over Ludovit Klein in late May, and holds notable wins over former champion Rafael dos Anjos and current top contender Arman Tsarukyan.
Gamrot added on social media: “I told UFC straight – I want to face you in your own house. This will be a true masterclass on the ground, and I’m ready to prove it. … I hear you’re worried about my style, even though you had a full training camp. I had none, and still I’m ready to step into the cage.”
UFC Rio is scheduled to take place at Farmasi Arena in Rio de Janeiro and will mark the organization’s first card at that venue since UFC 301.
Below is a look at the matchups currently expected to happen at UFC Rio:
-- Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Montel Jackson
-- Gabriel Bonfim vs. Randy Brown
-- Jhonata Diniz vs. Mario Pinto
-- Valter Walker vs. Mohammed Usman
-- Jafel Filho vs. Clayton Carpenter
-- Lucas Almeida vs. Michael Aswell
-- Vitor Petrino vs. Thomas Petersen
-- Beatriz Mesquita vs. Irina Alekseeva
-- Ricardo Ramos vs. Kaan Ofli
-- Lucas Rocha vs. Stewart Nicoll
-- Julia Polastri vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz
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