Marcelo Rojo has gotten his wish.
Weeks after telling MMA Junkie he wanted to replace injured Raphael Assuncao at UFC Fight Night 186, Rojo (16-6 MMA, 0-0 UFC) has been chosen to do just that. Verbal agreements are in place for him to fight Raoni Barcelos at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
The Feb. 27 fight will be contested at a 140-pound catchweight.
A person with knowledge of the matchup confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie on Saturday but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. Barcelos later confirmed the news, as well, on his Instagram stories.
Rojo, 32, is a longtime Combate Americas standout. He has won three of his most recent four outings with the lone loss coming against UFC bantamweight John Castaneda.
Barcelos (16-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) has slowly but surely marched his way up the ranks of the UFC’s bantamweight division. He has struggled to find matchups that hold up. Four of his past seven matchups have been canceled. A former RFA featherweight champion, Barcelos currently rides a nine-fight winning streak, including victories over Said Nurmagomedov, Chris Gutierrez, and Kurt Holobaugh.
With the addition, the UFC Fight Night 186 lineup includes:
- Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs. Ciryl Gane
- Raoni Barcelos vs. Marcelo Rojo
- William Knight vs. Alonzo Menifield
- Alexis Davis vs. Sabina Mazo
- Randy Brown vs. Alex Oliveira
- Alex Caceres vs. Kevin Croom
- Magomed Ankalaev vs. Nikita Krylov
- Montana De La Rosa vs. Mayra Bueno Silva
- Alexander Hernandez vs. Thiago Moises
- Vince Cachero vs. Ronnie Lawrence
- Pedro Munhoz vs. Jimmie Rivera
- Maxin Grishim vs. Dustin Jacoby
