Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) was forced to find a new headliner when Tim Means was lifted from the upcoming UFC Fight Night 83 event on FOX Sports 1, taking place TONIGHT (Sun., Feb. 21, 2016) inside CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
As a result, the promotion pegged Alex Oliveira to step in for a short-notice fight against Donald Cerrone, which means “Cowboy” will be fighting “Cowboy” at welterweight. Not a bout that screams “main event,” but at least these are two fighters who like to bang.
Cerrone (28-7, 1 NC) is in a big hurry to erase the memory of last December’s loss to Rafael dos Anjos, a one-sided shellacking in the main event of UFC on FOX 17, which not only ruined his title aspirations, but also snapped an eight-fight winning streak.
Onward and upward.
After a debut loss to Gilbert Burns, Oliveira (13-3-1, 1 NC) roared back to claim three straight wins, including a submission over longtime lightweight boxer K.J. Noons, as well as a knockout victory over the venerable Piotr Hallman last November.
The Brazilian has 11 finishes in 13 wins, making this a very interesting match up.
To see who else is fighting at UFC Fight Night 83 click here.