Fares Ziam won’t be competing in front of a home country crowd this Saturday.
The French lightweight contender announced Monday on social media that he is bowing out of his UFC Paris bout with Kaue Fernandes following the death of his grandmother.
See Ziam’s statement below.
Ziam (17-4) is currently on a five-fight win streak, with recent victories over Mike Davis, Matt Frevola, and Claudio Puelles.
The UFC announced Tuesday that a new opponent has been found
for Fernandes (10-2). Cage Warriors featherweight champion Harry Hardwick (13-3-1) now steps in on less than a week’s notice to face Fernandes on Saturday’s lineup.
Fernandes is coming off of a unanimous decision win over Guram Kutateladze this past March, a victory that put him on his first-ever UFC win streak. Hardwick also competed in March, winning a decision over Javier Garcia to notch the second defense of his Cage Warriors title. The Englishman is undefeated in his past nine fights.
UFC Paris is headlined by a middleweight contender bout between France’s Nassourdine Imavov and Brazil’s Caio Borralho.
