After a solid UFC debut, Michel Pereira now is in need of a short-notice opponent for his next outing.
Sergey Khandozhko (27-5-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) is out of his welterweight fight against Pereira (23-9 MMA, 1-0 UFC) at UFC on ESPN+ 16, a person with knowledge of the fight told MMA Junkie on Saturday. The person requested anonymity because the UFC has not made a formal announcement of Khandozhko’s withdrawal. The news first was reported by TSN.
UFC on ESPN+ 16 takes place Sept. 14 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The card streams on ESPN+.
Pereira made headlines in his promotional debut with a first-round knockout over Danny Roberts at UFC on ESPN+ 10. He put on an entertaining and acrobatic showing and blasted Roberts with a flying knee and punch combination to deliver the knockout blow.
Khandozhko also made good in his UFC debut with a unanimous decision win over Rostem Akman at UFC on ESPN+ 11. But now he’ll be on the sidelines.
With the change, the UFC on ESPN+ 16 lineup includes:
MAIN CARD (ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET)
- Donald Cerrone vs. Justin Gaethje
- Nikita Krylov vs. Glover Teixeira
- Todd Duffee vs. Jeff Hughes
- Michel Pereira vs. TBA
- Antonio Carlos Junior vs. Uriah Hall
- Misha Cirkunov vs. Jim Crute
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 5 p.m. ET)
- Augusto Sakai vs. Marcin Tybura
- Miles Johns vs. Cole Smith
- Andrew Sanchez vs. Marvin Vettori
- Hunter Azure vs. Brad Katona
- Jordan Griffin vs. Chas Skelly
- Ryan MacDonald vs. Louis Smolka
- Austin Hubbard vs. Kyle Prepolec
