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Greg Hardy is set to replace Junior Dos Santos to fight Alexander Volkov next month in Russia, following the Brazilian’s removal from the bout due to cellulitis.
It looks like Greg Hardy is set for a quick turnaround just a few days after his controversial bout against Ben Sosoli at UFC Boston. ESPN reports that the heavyweight has agreed to fill in for Junior dos Santos to fight Alexander Volkov next month at UFC Moscow.
It was announced earlier today that Dos Santos was forced to pull out of his main event fight with Volkov on November 9th due to an ongoing bout of cellulitis in his leg—an infection that apparently required two procedures to remove. While Hardy didn’t seem like a likely name on anyone’s shortlist for fighters to step in for the bout, it appears he jumped at the chance and the UFC has booked him to step in.
As a result, Volkov vs. Hardy will reportedly be moved to the co-main event of the card, with Zabit Magomedsharipov vs. Calvin Kattar taking over as the main event. ESPN’s Brett Okamoto also reports that Zabit vs. Kattar will remain a three round fight despite taking over the headlining slot.
Hardy (5-1, 1NC) was originally awarded with a unanimous decision win against Sosoli in Boston, but had his victory overturned to a no-contest. The change came due to Hardy’s use of an inhaler between rounds, one that the Massachusetts State Athletic Comission says they never approved for the former NFL star’s use during the fight.
Volkov (30-7) hasn’t fought since suffering the first loss of his UFC career to Derrick Lewis at UFC 229 in October 2018. The Russian was on a six-fight winning streak before that, picking up wins against the likes of Fabricio Werdum and Stefan Struve. Volkov was supposed to fight Alistair Overeem this year at UFC St. Petersburg, but he withdrew from that fight for an undisclosed reason.
UFC Moscow takes place at the CSKA Arena on November 9th and will air exclusively on ESPN+.