Khamzat Chimaev to replace Dusko Todorovic on July 15
Khamzat Chimaev has been selected as the man to replace Dusko Todorovic at UFC on ESPN 13.
Earlier today, the news broke that Todorovic was unable to make his UFC debut against John Phillips due to a potential medical issue. Instead, Chimaev will be the one making his UFC debut.
Russian MMA reporter Igor Lazorin was the first to report the news. His report was later confirmed by MMA Junkie.
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Chimaev (6-0) is one of Europe’s top welterweight prospects, but he will be making his first walk to the octagon at middleweight. All six of Chimaev’s wins have been by a stoppage. Originally Chimaev was going to fight for the Brave CF title in April in Stockholm, Sweden, but the event was canceled due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Philips is looking to build off of his first UFC win in September when he earned a “Performance of the Night” bonus for knocking out Alen Amedovski in 14 seconds. Prior to that win, he had lost his first three UFC fights.
UFC on ESPN 13 takes place on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. The event will be part of the UFC’s four-fight stretch on “Fight Island” over 15 days. The card is going to be headlined by a featherweight fight between Calvin Kattar and Dan Ige. Earlier this week, Pedro Munhoz, who was scheduled to fight Frankie Edgar in the co-main event, was forced out of the fight after testing positive for COVID-19.
The latest UFC on ESPN 13 lineup is listed below.
MAIN CARD (ESPN, ESPN+, 10 p.m. ET)
Calvin Kattar vs. Dan Ige
Frankie Edgar vs. opponent TBA
Jimmie Rivera vs. Cody Stamann
Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Mounir Lazzez
Chris Fishgold vs. Jared Gordon
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN, ESPN+, 7 p.m. ET)
Modestas Bukauskas vs. Vinicius Moreira
Molly McCann vs. Taila Santos
Lerone Murphy vs. Ricardo Ramos
Khamzat Chimaev vs. John Phillips
Ryan Benoit vs. Tim Elliott
Diana Belbita vs. Liana Jojua
Aaron Phillips vs. Jack Shore
