Cesar Almeida out of UFC Vegas 82 fight with Christian Leroy Duncan

14/11/2023 01:40

Christian Leroy Duncan needs a new opponent for UFC Vegas 82, which goes down Saturday at the UFC APEX, after Cesar Almeida withdrew from the card due to medical reasons, multiple people with knowledge of the situation told MMA Fighting.

UFC Vegas 82 will be headlined by a middleweight showdown between Brendan Allen and Paul Craig.

Almeida (4-0) will have to undergo a minor surgery on Monday after battling an infection for more than a week, MMA Fighting has learned. It's still unclear how long the Brazilian kickboxer will be sidelined for.

"Cesinha" signed with the UFC after defeating Lucas Fernando via decision at Dana White's Contender Series this past August. Almeida also holds a win over UFC champion Alex Pereira in kickboxing, having lost two others to "Poatan" over the course of his 47-7-1 kickboxing career.

Duncan (8-1) is looking to rebound from a decision defeat to Armen Petrosyan in June, the first blemish on a record that included winning and defending the Cage Warriors belt before joining the UFC and defeating Dusko Todorovic in his octagon debut.