The injury bug has hit the final UFC pay-per-view event of 2021.
A middleweight contest between Dricus Du Plessis and Andre Muniz scheduled to take place at UFC 269 in December has been altered after Du Plessis pulled out of the bout due to an injury. MMA DNA first reported the news of the withdrawal.
All is not lost for Muniz (21-4 MMA, 3-0 UFC), however, because a replacement opponent has been found. [autotag]Eryk Anders[/autotag] will step up on a month’s notice to compete in the middleweight contest. In addition to Muniz acknowledging the change on his Instagram story, MMA Junkie confirmed the new matchup with sources familiar with the situation.
The bout will be the third fight of the calendar year for Anders, who faced Darren Stewart twice. Their first meeting in March resulted in a no contest due to an illegal knee. The pair immediately ran it back three months later at UFC 263 where Anders would win via unanimous decision.
Muniz, a two-time Dana White’s Contender Series veteran, competed in his third UFC bout in May at UFC 262, when he broke Jacare Souza’s arm during an inverted armbar in the first round. Muniz is undefeated in his UFC tenure thus far and is currently riding a seven fight win streak.
With the change, the UFC 269 lineup includes:
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)
- Charles Oliveira vs. Dustin Poirier – for lightweight title
- Amanda Nunes vs. Julianna Pena – for women’s bantamweight title
- Leon Edwards vs. Jorge Masvidal
- Cody Garbrandt vs. Kai Kara-France
- Sean O’Malley vs. Raulian Paiva
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN, ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET)
- Geoff Neal vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio
- Dominick Cruz vs. Pedro Munhoz
- Josh Emmett vs. Dan Ige
- Eryk Anders vs. Andre Muniz
- Erin Blanchfield vs. Miranda Maverick
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 6 p.m. ET)
- Alex Perez vs. Matt Schnell
- Ryan Hall vs. Darrick Minner
- Priscila Cachoeira vs. Gillian Robertson
- Randy Costa vs. Tony Kelley
- Bruno Silva vs. Jordan Wright
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