Another non-UFC pay-per-view headliner in October has taken a hit with Rafael Fiziev’s withdrawal from UFC Fight Night 261.
Fiziev (13-4 MMA, 7-4 UFC) has suffered an undisclosed injury that has forced him out of the Oct. 11 main event vs. former champion Charles Oliveira (35-11 MMA, 23-11 UFC) set to take place at Farmasi Arena in Rio de Janeiro (ESPN+).
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A person with knowledge of the situation verified the news to MMA Junkie on Saturday following an initial report from X user Octagon Update. The promotion has yet to make an official announcement on Fiziev’s removal from the contest or plans about a potential replacement opponent for Oliveira.
Oliveira, 36, was meant compete in Brazil for the first time since March 2020. The promotion’s all-time leader in finishes, submissions and bonuses is 3-3 in his past six fights, and is hanging on to his No. 4 spot in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie lightweight rankings.
No. 12-ranked Fiziev, 32, who is coming off a unanimous decision win over Ignacio Bahamondes at UFC on ABC 8 in June to snap a three-fight losing skid. He had a big opportunity to jump up the rankings, but now his next move is uncertain depending on the severity of his injury.
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The latest UFC Fight Night 261 lineup includes:
Charles Oliveira vs. opponent TBA
Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Montel Jackson
Jhonata Diniz vs. Mario Pinto
Vicente Luque vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio
Gabriel Bonfim vs. Randy Brown
Clayton Carpenter vs. Jafel Filho
Thomas Petersen vs. Vitor Petrino
Stewart Nicoll vs. Lucas Rocha
Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs. Julia Polastri
Mohammed Usman vs. Valter Walker
Kaan Ofli vs. Ricardo Ramos
Lucas Almeida vs. Michael Aswell
Stephanie Luciano vs. Ravena Oliveira
HyunSung Park vs. Bruno Silva
Danny Barlow vs. Djorden Santos
Irina Alekseeva vs. Bia Mesquita
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Rafael Fiziev injured, out of UFC Rio main event vs. Charles Oliveira