Alex Oliveira gets short-notice replacement, now faces Ramazan Kurmagomedov at UFC Vegas 20

Alex Oliveira will remain on Saturday’s UFC Vegas 20 card.

Oliveira was expected to face Randy Brown, but on Monday it was revealed Brown was out of the fight due to an undisclosed reason. It was uncertain if the Brazilian would remain on the card but according to MMAJunkie, Oliveira will face Ramazan Kurmagomedov. The fight will also remain at welterweight.

Alex Oliveira is coming off a submission loss to Shavkat Rakhmonov back in October. The loss snapped his two-fight winning streak as he beat Peter Sobotta by decision on Fight Island and Max Griffin at UFC 248. Before the two-fight winning streak, Oliveira suffered losses to Nicolas Dalby, Mike Perry, and Gunnar Nelson. He also holds notable wins over Carlos Condit, Tim Means, and Ryan LaFlare among others.

Ramazan Kurmagomedov, meanwhile, is 8-0 as a pro and will make his long-awaited UFC debut. The Russian last fought back in September in CFFC where he submitted Trevor Ollison. Kurmagomedov also competed on the Contender Series back in 2019 and he earned a split decision win over Jordan Williams. The Russian has also fought in the PFL but there is no question, Alex Oliveira will be the toughest fight of his career. If he can get past the Brazilian, he will likely get another big fight next time out.

UFC Vegas 20 airs live from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The event will air on ESPN+ with the main card kicking off at 8 p.m. ET and the prelims at 5 p.m. ET

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