Mario Pinto will no longer fight Mick Parkin on the UFC London card on March 21. Instead, the undefeated heavyweight has agreed to take on octagon newcomer Felipe Franco.
Multiple people with knowledge of the change confirmed the news to MMA Fighting. It’s still unclear why Parkin was forced off the card.
UFC London is scheduled to take place at The O2 Arena and feature a featherweight contender clash between Movsar Evloev and Lerone Murphy in the main event.
Franco enters the UFC with a record of 10-1 — including an arm-triangle choke victory over Douglas Felipe Santos on Feb. 7 that has yet to be added to record databases. That makes “Negao” 2-0 since coming up short on his Dana White’s Contender Series bout with Freddy Vidal, a third-round submission defeat.
Pinto improved to 11-0 as a professional with back-to-back knockouts over Jhonata Diniz and Austen Lane inside the UFC cage in 2025. He also competed on DWCS, inking a deal with the organization following a quick knockout over Lucas Camacho in October of 2024.
Check the updated UFC London lineup below.