Originally, Shavkat Rakhmonov was set to fight Elizeu Zaleski at UFC 254 on Oct. 24; however, Zaleski was forced to pull out of the fight due to injury. Now, Rakhmonov vs. Alex Oliveira has been booked for the Fight Island show later this month.
Rakhmonov will be making his UFC debut here and the welterweight is coming in on the strength of a strong 12-fight winning streak that he gained from competing in M-1 Global and Kazakhstan MMA Federation. Thus far, Rakhmonov’s fights have either ended via TKO or submission. His professional record stands at 12 wins and 0 losses.
Oliveira is slowly rebuilding up momentum thanks to his victories over Max Griffin and Peter Sobotta. Oliveira’s three consecutive losses to Gunnar Nelson, Mike Perry, and Nicolas Dalby have kept him out of the top 15 rankings. His professional record currently stands at 22 wins, 8 losses, 1 draw, and 2 no contests.
Check out the updated line-up for UFC 254 that will feature Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Justin Gaethje for the UFC Lightweight title as the main event:
Khabib Nurmagomedov (c) vs. Justin Gaethje
Robert Whittaker vs. Jared Cannonier
Alexander Volkov vs. Walt Harris
Rafael dos Anjos vs. Islam Makhachev
Cynthia Calvillo vs. Lauren Murphy
Magomed Ankalaev vs. Ion Cutelaba
Stefan Struve vs. Tai Tuivasa
Umar Nurmagomedov vs. Sergey Morozov
Da Un Jung vs. Sam Alvey
Jacob Malkoun vs. Phil Hawes
Liana Jojua vs. Miranda Maverick
Shavkat Rakhmonov vs. Alex Oliveira