Mersik Bagdasaryan will not play this weekend.
The featherweight announced on social media that he has been forced to pull out of his bout against Mohammed Naimov, which was scheduled to take place on the main card of UFC Saudi Arabia this Saturday in Riyadh.
Bagdasarian said he suffered a torn labrum in his left shoulder. You can watch his announcement on his Instagram Story (archived by Eurosport) below:
News of Bagdasarian's withdrawal was first reported by MMA reporter Robert Telles.
Bagdasarian hasn't had the best luck in 2024, missing out on three bookings this year and having bouts against Haidar Amir and William Gomis canceled. He has won three of his first four UFC bouts, most recently a unanimous decision victory over Tucker Lutz in July 2023.
On Tuesday, UFC announced that Baghdasaryan would be replaced by newcomer Felipe Lima (12-1). Eurosport was first to report the new matchup.
Lima most recently competed at the Octagon MMA Show in July 2023, where he won the bantamweight title with a unanimous decision victory over Jonas Maggard, riding a 12-fight winning streak since losing his professional debut.
Octagon MMA released a statement on social media saying they had released Lima from his contract in accordance with existing terms and wished him the best in his UFC debut.
“Based on the terms of his long-term contract and our excellent relationship, we have today agreed to have bantamweight champion Felipe Lima compete at a UFC event in Abu Dhabi. We wish him the best of luck.”
We will continue to keep you updated on the future of OKTAGON MMA.
— Octagon MMA (@OktagonOfficial) June 17, 2024
There's already one big change to Saturday's UFC Saudi Arabia card: Former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker was scheduled to face unbeaten Khamzat Chimaev in the main event, but Chimaev was forced to withdraw due to illness and will be replaced by Ikram Aliskerov.
