Makwan Amirkhani will be the one replacing Sodiq Yussuf against Brazilian featherweight Edson Barboza at the upcoming UFC Fight Island 5 event in Abu Dhabi which is taking place this Saturday night.
The promotion announced the news yesterday.
Barboza, 34, had to square up against Yussuf, but the Nigerian-American fighter has been ruled out with no particular reason.
Amirkhani, 31, is the third opponent scheduled to face Barboza. Initially, the Brazilian had to fight Jeremy Stephens, but things have changed since then twice.
“Mr. Finland” will return to the UFC’s ‘Fight Island’ fresh off a technical submission victory over Danny Henry back in July. Meanwhile, Barboza looks to put an end to an uncomfortable losing streak that dates back to March 2019.
Saturday’s UFC event on Abu Dhabi will be headlined by Barboza’s teammate Marlon Moraes against Cory Sandhagen.