Christian Leroy Duncan needs a new opponent for UFC Vegas 82 following Cesar Almeida’s withdrawal from the card due to medical reasons, multiple people with knowledge of the situation told MMA Fighting.
UFC Vegas 82 takes place Saturday at the UFC APEX and will be headlined by a middleweight showdown between Brendan Allen and Paul Craig.
Almeida (4-0) will have to undergo a minor surgery on Monday after battling an infection for more than a week, MMA Fighting has learned. It’s still unclear how long the Brazilian kickboxer will be sidelined.
Almeida signed with the UFC after defeating Lucas Fernando via decision at Dana White’s Contender Series this past August. Almeida also holds a win over new UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira in kickboxing, although he lost two other matches to “Poatan” over the course of his 47-7-1 kickboxing career.
Duncan (8-1) looks to rebound from a decision defeat to Armen Petrosyan this past June, the first blemish on a record that included winning and defending the Cage Warriors belt before joining the UFC and defeating Dusko Todorovic in his octagon debut.