Welterweights Sergio Moraes and Abubakar Nurmagomedov will no longer square off in Belem, Brazil.
An intriguing welterweight bout was added to the upcoming Belem card. Combate reported that the Ultimate Fighter Brazil 1 runner-up, Sergio Moraes, was set to take on Khabib Nurmagomedov’s adopted brother and cousin, Abubakar Nurmagomedov, in a clash of world-class grapplers. However, a follow-up report from Combate says that Nurmagomedov is no longer going to compete on the card.
Sergio Moraes (12-2-1) was undefeated in his last seven bouts, with wins over the likes of Neil Magny and Omari Akhmedov, among others – and a draw against Luan Chagas. However, that streak came to a halt in his last outing – against Kamaru Usman, in September – where Moraes ended up knocked out in the first round.
Abubakar Nurmagomedov (14-1) is on a six-fight winning streak. The last five coming via the World Series of Fighting – including a big win over UFC veteran, John Howard. Nurmagomedov’s sole loss came in 2014, when he was bested by fellow UFC fighter, Magomed Mustafaev, the result of a cut stoppage in a very competitive bout.
Stepping in for Nurmagomedov will be Tim Means (27-9-1), who is coming off a split decision loss to Belal Muhammad at UFC Sydney back in November. His most recent win was by unanimous decision vs. Alex Garcia, at UFC Oklahoma City in June.
UFC Fight Night 125 takes place on February 3rd, and will be headlined by a middleweight bout between Belem’s own Lyoto Machida against Eryk Anders.