Raoni Barcelos will get a quick turnaround when he faces a fellow rising contender.
With Cody Stamann out, Barcelos (16-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) has stepped in to face Merab Dvalishvili (12-4 MMA, 5-2 UFC) at UFC Fight Night on Dec. 5, which takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
MMA Junkie confirmed verbal agreements are in place for the booking after an initial report on the “Anik and Florian” podcast.
Unbeaten in the UFC, Barcelos is fresh off an impressive unanimous decision win over Khalid Taha this past weekend at UFC on ESPN+ 40, earning the “Fight of the Night” bonus. He’s currently riding a nine-fight winning streak.
Dvalishvili, who’s won his past five in a row, is coming off arguably the biggest win of his career over former two-time UFC flyweight title challenger John Dodson at UFC 252 in August.
With the addition, the Dec. 5 lineup includes:
- Jack Hermansson vs. Kevin Holland
- Bethe Correia vs. Yanan Wu
- Jake Collier vs. Gian Villante
- Maryna Moroz vs. Taila Santos
- Cody Durden vs. Jimmy Flick
- John Allan vs. Roman Dolidze
- Damon Jackson vs. Ilia Topuria
- Jamahal Hill vs. Ovince Saint Preux
- Raoni Barcelos vs. Merab Dvalishvili
