Aleksei Oleinik vs. Ilir Latifi moved to UFC 273
Originally slated for last weekend’s UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Daukaus, heavyweights Aleksei Oleinik and Ilir Latifi were scratched from the card at the last minute.
According to reports, Latifi had to pull from the bout due to a non-COVID-related illness.
The bout, however, was quickly rescheduled for 2-weeks later. UFC officials announced on Monday that the two will now meet on April 9th at UFC 273 in Jacksonville, Florida.
“The Boa Constrictor” Oleinik holds an experienced record of 59-16-1 as a professional. Signed to the UFC in 2014, the heavyweight submission wizard holds wins over heavyweight legends Mark Hunt and Fabricio Werdum. Also on his victory list are Travis Brown, Junior Albini, and Maurice Greene.
In recent years, the 44-year-old has suffered three consecutive losses. Most recently suffering a unanimous decision loss to Sergey Spivak at UFC Fight Night: Korean Zombie vs. Ige.
Looking to get his 60th win, he will be faced with Swedish heavyweight Ilir Latifi.
Latifi (15-8-0, 1 NC) snapped a three-fight losing streak in his last outing at UFC Fight Night: Rozenstruik vs. Sakai. He defeated Tanner Boser via split decision at the event to obtain his first win as a UFC heavyweight contender.
With a total of 100 fights between the two, there will be no lack of experience in this one.
The bout will take place on a stacked UFC 273 card, which is to feature a total of 14 bouts.
Updated card:
Alexander Volkanovski vs. Chan Sung Jung – 145 lbs (title bout)
Aljamain Sterling vs. Petr Yan – 135 lbs (title bout)
Mackenzie Dern vs. Tecia Torres – 115 lbs
Gilbert Burns vs. Khamzat Chimaev – 170 lbs
Kelvin Gastelum vs. Dricus Du Plessis – 185 lbs
Mike Malott vs. Mickey Gall – 170 lbs
Julio Arce vs. Daniel Santos – 135 lbs
Ian Garry vs. Darian Weeks – 170 lbs
Vinc Pichel vs. Mark Madsen – 155 lbs
Kay Hansen vs. Piera Rodriguez – 115 lbs
Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs. Marcin Tybura – 265 lbs
Aspen Ladd vs. Raquel Pennington – 135 lbs
Aleksei Oleinik vs. Ilir Latifi – 265 lbs
Anthony Hernandez vs. Josh Fremd – 185 lbs
