UFC has been forced to scratch a key lightweight main event.
Beneil Dariush has suffered an injury that will prevent him from facing Islam Makhachev in the UFC Fight Night 202 headliner on Feb. 26. The event is scheduled to take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
As a result, Bobby Green has agreed to step in as the replacement for Dariush (21-4-1 MMA, 15-4-1 UFC) against Makhachev (21-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC). The fight, which takes place at a 160-pound catchweight, will come just two weeks after Green (29-12-1 MMA, 10-7-1 UFC) defeated Nasrat Haqparast at UFC 271.
Makhachev posted a statement confirming the switch of opponent, and wish Dariush well in recovering from the serious ankle injury he reportedly suffered in training.
The altered headliner comes on the heels of UFC Fight Night 201 on Saturday losing its top fight between former lightweight champ Rafael dos Anjos and Rafael Fiziev.
The latest UFC Fight Night 202 lineup:
Islam Makhachev vs. Bobby Green
Ignacio Bahamondes vs. Rong Zhu
Hannah Goldy vs. Jinh Yu Frey
Joel Alvarez vs. Arman Tsarukyan
Misha Cirkunov vs. Wellington Turman
Victor Altamirano vs. Carlos Hernandez
Terrance McKinney vs. Fares Ziam
Micheal Gillmore vs. Jonny Parsons
Priscila Cachoeira vs. Ji Yeon Kim
Josiane Nunes vs. Wu Yanan