With Makhmud Muradov out of UFC 301, Ihor Potieria steps in to face Michel Pereira in Rio

Despite already being booked for another fight, Ihor Potieria will step in on short notice at UFC 301.

Despite already being booked for a fight, Ihor Potieria will step in on short notice at UFC 301.

Makhmud Muradov has been forced out of his May 4 middleweight bout against Michel Pereira (30-11 MMA, 8-2 UFC) at Rio Arena in Rio de Janeiro (pay-per-view, ESPN+) due to an infection. He will be replaced by Potieria (21-5 MMA, 2-3 UFC), who is currently scheduled to face Shara Magomedov June 22 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Both fighters confirmed the news on social media after an initial report from MMA Mania.

Potieria snapped his two-fight losing skid with a unanimous decision win over Robert Bryczek at UFC Fight Night 236 in February. Meanwhile, Pereira is 2-0 since moving up to middleweight, scoring a first-round TKO of Andre Petroski, followed by a first-round submission of Michal Oleksiejczuk at UFC 299.

With the change, the latest UFC 301 lineup now includes:

• Alexandre Pantoja vs. Stephen Erceg – for flyweight title
• Jose Aldo vs. Jonathan Martinez
• Caio Borralho vs. Paul Craig
• Vitor Petrino vs. Anthony Smith
• Michel Pereira vs. Ihor Poteira
• Drakkar Klose vs. Joaquim Silva
• Kevin Borjas vs. Alessandro Costa
• Dione Barbosa vs. Ernesta Kareckaite
• Joanderson Brito vs. Jack Shore
• Elves Brener vs. Myktybek Orolbai
• William Gomis vs. Jean Silva
• Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs. Iasmin Lucindo
• Ismael Bonfim vs. Vinc Pichel

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 301.