Undefeated heavyweight Carlos Felipe will finally make his UFC debut.
After back-to-back cancelations, Felipe (8-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) has been scheduled to fight Serghei Spivac on July 18. The UFC event will take place on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi – also known as “Fight Island.”
Both fighters recently confirmed the booking on social media after an initial report by Brazilian outlet Combate.
The two fighters were originally scheduled to fight May 9 at UFC 250 in Sao Paulo prior to the outbreak of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The bout fell through when the event was canceled.
Felipe originally was scheduled to make his UFC debut in 2017 against Christian Colombo but was handed a two-year suspension by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency for failing a drug test. He was subsequently released from the UFC but ended up re-signing with the promotion in July. Felipe was booked to face Jeff Hughes at UFC on ESPN 8 in Columbus but withdrew for undisclosed reasons.
Spivac (10-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC) lost his promotional debut to Walt Harris but rebounded with a big submission win over Tai Tuivasa at UFC 243. He drew Marcin Tybura next at UFC on ESPN+ 27 but was out-grappled in a unanimous decision loss.
With the addition, the current July 18 lineup includes:
- Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Joseph Benavidez – for vacant UFC flyweight title
- Kelvin Gastelum vs. Jack Hermansson
- Marc Diakiese vs. Alan Patrick
- Askar Askarov vs. Alexandre Pantoja
- Roman Dolidze vs. Khadis Ibragimov
- Carlos Felipe vs. Serghei Spivac
