Bryce Mitchell has withdrawn from his UFC 288 fight against Movsar Evloev, and Diego Lopes will step in as a replacement.
Bryce Mitchell won’t be participating in UFC 288 this Saturday. Sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed that Mitchell has been forced to withdraw from his upcoming main card featherweight bout against Movsar Evloev. Diego Lopes (20-5), a past Dana White Contender Series hopeful, will be stepping in to fight Evloev on short notice. ESPN Deportes was the first to report this news.
The reason for Mitchell’s withdrawal has not been disclosed yet. Evloev (16-0) now faces a new opponent after initially stepping in on short notice himself as a replacement for Jonathan Pearce. Evloev was previously scheduled to fight Mitchell at UFC Vegas 64 this past November but had to withdraw due to an injury. The former M-1 Global bantamweight champion has impressed in his UFC career, scoring decision wins over his past six opponents, including Dan Ige and Hakeem Dawodu.
On the other hand, Lopes most recently competed at a Lux Fight League event in November, where he defeated Angel Rodriguez via a second-round TKO. This victory marked Lopes’ ninth win in his past 11 fights, a streak that includes an appearance on the Contender Series, where he lost a unanimous decision to Joanderson Brito.