Randy Brown’s removal from the event on just a few days notice won’t keep welterweight Alex Oliveira from fighting this weekend. The Brazilian now meets top Russian prospect Ramazan Kuramagomedov.
While it may not have been among the top ranked or most notable bouts on this weekend’s UFC Fight Night card, Alex ‘Cowboy’ Oliveira’s planned fight against Randy Brown had all the hallmarks of an action-first crowd-pleaser. The two men, both known for their rangy power-striking and violent clinch offense both had a lot to prove—with Oliveira coming off a surprising submission loss to Shavkat Rakhmonov last time out, and Brown falling prey to the knockout power of Vicente Luque.
Unfortunately, Brown has been sidelined from the event, whether due to injury, illness, or some other unforeseeable circumstance. But, fans hoping to see the longtime ATS Team fighter in action this weekend will still get their wish. MMA Junkie reports a brand new signing to replace ‘Rude Boy’ against the Brazilian, former Contender Series participant, PFL fighter, and ACB prospect Ramazan Kuramagomedov.
The 24(ish)-year-old Dagestani is currently an unbeaten 8-0 heading into his UFC debut, having picked up a victory over Trevor Ollison back at CFFC 85 in September of last year. His most notable win to date came over current UFC middleweight Jordan Williams back in 2019 on Season 3 of DWCS.
Stateside, Kuramagomedov appears to be doing most of his fight camp work out of Ricardo Almeida BJJ, working under Mark Henry alongside Frankie Edgar and Said Nurmagomedov. His past bouts have showed him to be a busy southpaw striker with a decent controlling top game and submission arsenal.
For Oliveira (22-9-1 2 NC), his loss to Rakhmonov last October broke a two-fight win streak to start out 2020. The 33-year-old picked up a split decision over Max Griffin back in March, and a dominating decision victory over Peter Sobotta in July before losing to the former M-1 champion out of Uzbekistan.
UFC Vegas 20: Rozenstruik vs. Gane takes place this Saturday, February 27th, at the Apex facility in Las Vegas, NV. The card is expected to be headlined by a heavyweight top contender’s bout between Ciryl Gane and Jairzinho Rozenstruik. A light heavyweight fight between Nikita Krylov and Magomed Ankalaev is set for the co-main event.