UFC 294 shakeup: Nassourdine Imavov steps aside, Ikram Aliskerov welcomes TUF winner
There appears to be a change in the UFC 294 fight lineup, as Nassourdine Imavov has reportedly withdrawn from his scheduled bout against Ikram Aliskerov.
According to a recent report by combat sports journalist Marcel Dorff on X (formerly Twitter), Imavov will no longer be facing Aliskerov in the fight scheduled on October 21. Instead, Warlley Alves, the winner of 'The Ultimate Fighter' (TUF) Brazil Season 3, will step in as the replacement to face Aliskerov.
Check out Dorff's post below:
Ikram Aliskerov seems to be experiencing some revolving door opponents, with this being the second time in under four months that a change has been made to his fight schedule. The 30-year-old Russian was initially set to face Paulo Costa at UFC 291 in July.
However, things got a bit murky with Costa's preference to take on Khamzat Chimaev, which has now evolved into the co-main event for UFC 294. Consequently, Aliskerov found himself paired up with Nassourdine Imavov.
However, recent reports indicate that Alves will now step in to fight Aliskerov with only a two-week notice.
Fan frenzy: Nassourdine Imavov's replacement Warlley Alves ignites conversations
Fans wasted no time in offering a variety of reactions when they learned that Nassourdine Imavov had been substituted by Warlley Alves on short notice to face Ikram Aliskerov.
One fan wrote:
"Wow that’s so sad man. I was really looking forward to that fight, I wanna see Aliskerov’s skills and how he fits in the middleweight division smh"
Another wrote:
"Omg Ikram army gonna riot"
Check out some more reactions below:
"I don’t blame him for pulling out he would’ve been freaking mauled 👏"
"WTF Two opponents pulled Out. I feel bad for Ikram Aliskerov"
"NOOO FIRST PAULO THEN IMAVOV"
"Now put this on prelims and put Mokaev and Elliot on main card"
"had a feeling the imavov fight wouldn’t happen."
"Aliskerov went from fighting #6 ranked Paulo to #11 ranked Imavov to unranked 1-3 in his last 4 Alves 🫠"
"Oh damn the fights are fallin off already. That can't be good."
"Warley's TUF run at 185 was amazing. Hope he sticks with it."
