UFC Rio loses heavyweight fight hours before official weigh-ins
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Valter Walker needs a new opponent for this weekend's UFC Rio after his original opponent Mohammad Usman withdrew from the bout on Thursday, multiple people with knowledge of the situation confirmed the news to MMA Fighting following a report from Laerte Viana.
It's still unclear what forced Usman off the card and if the UFC will find a replacement in time to face the Brazilian.
Walker (14-1) is one of the most popular fighters on the card off three straight heel hook finishes in the UFC, and sought history with another submission of that kind against Usman.
Usman (11-4), a TUF 30 winner, aimed to keep the momentum going after winning a decision over Hamdy Abdelwahab in June, rebounding from consecutive decision defeats to Thomas Petersen and Mick Parkin in 2024.
Check the updated UFC Rio lineup below.
Main card
- Charles Oliveira vs. Mateusz Gamrot
- Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Montel Jackson
- Vicente Luque vs. Joel Alvarez
- Jhonata Diniz vs. Mario Pinto
- Ricardo Ramos vs. Kaan Ofli
- Lucas Almeida vs. Michael Aswell
Undercard
- Jafel Filho vs. Clayton Carpenter
- Vitor Petrino vs. Thomas Petersen
- Beatriz Mesquita vs. Irina Alekseeva
- Lucas Rocha vs. Stewart Nicoll
- Valter Walker vs. TBD
- Julia Polastri vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz
- Luan Lacerda vs. Saimon Oliveira
