Siyar Bahadurzada – Image via UFC.com
An undisclosed injury Yoshihiro Akiyama has forced the Japanese fighter out of his upcoming welterweight bout with Thiago ‘Pitbull’ Alves (19-9) at this July’s upcoming UFC 149: Aldo vs. Koch event in Calgary.
Stepping in for ‘Sexyama’ will be Afghan born, and recent UFC on FUEL TV winner, ‘Siyar The Great’ Bahadurzada (21-4-1).
After a spectacular UFC debut in April that netted him a 42 second knockout of Paulo Thiago, Siyar Bahadurzada will jump right back into action at UFC 149 in Calgary when he replaces the injured Yoshihiro Akiyama against longtime welterweight contender Thiago Alves. The bout will take place at Scotiabank Saddledome on July 21st.
UFC 149: Aldo vs. Koch is expected to take place on July 21, 2012 at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The event is headlined by a featherweight title bout between champion Jose Aldo and No. 1 contender, Erik Koch.
Alves enters the bout on a loss to Martin Kampmann after their UFC on FX 2 headlining bout in Australia. Despite controlling most of the fight versus Kampmann, the ‘Pitbull’ was submitted in the final minute of the round after trying to secure a takedown. Alves has not had a great record since losing to UFC champ Georges St-Pierre back at UFC 100, going just 2-3 since August 2010. His last win came in November of last year, a rear-naked choke submission versus Papy Abedi, the first actual submission win of Alves pro-career.
Bahadurzada debuted with the UFC last April at the UFC Sweden event, stopping Paulo Thiago in 42-seconds by knockout. The victory was ‘Siyar the Great’s’ seventh straight victory, which includes six out of seven (T)KO finishes in that run. Bahadurzada was expected to debut at UFC 142 against Erick Silva in January, but an injury forced him out of that fight.