Cody Durden is stepping in on six days’ notice to replace Lucas Rocha against flyweight Jafel Filho on Saturday in Las Vegas, multiple people with knowledge of the situation confirmed with MMA Fighting.
UFC Vegas 116 takes place at the Meta APEX on April 25 and features Aljamain Sterling vs. Youssef Zalal in the main event.
Durden (17-10-1) enters the octagon on a four fight losing skid and 1-6 in his past seven UFC appearances, a stretch that dropped his promotional record to 6-8-1.
The 35-year-old
holds victories over the likes of Charles Johnson and Matt Schnell, but went winless since 2024 against Joshua Van, Jose Ochoa, Allan Nascimento and Nyamjargal Tumendemberel.
Filho (17-4) made short work of Clayton Carpenter in his most recent bout in October, winning via first-round submission to rebound from a decision defeat to fellow Brazilian Allan Nascimento.
The Nova Uniao fighter was victorious in eight of his past 10 fights since 2018, all by finish — including a knockout over Roybert Echeverria on Dana White’s Contender Series. The other loss during that run was in his UFC debut against Muhammad Mokaev.
Check the updated UFC Vegas 116 line-up below.
- Aljamain Sterling vs. Youssef Zalal
- Norma Dumont vs. Joselyne Edwards
- Montel Jackson vs. Raoni Barcelos
- Rafa Garcia vs. Alexander Hernandez
- Davey Grant vs. Adrian Juan Martinetti
- Talita Alencar vs. Julia Polastri
- Rodolfo Vieira vs. Eric McConico
- Marcus Buchecha vs. Ryan Spann
- Jafel Filho Cody Durden
- Mayra Bueno Silva vs. Michelle Montague
- Jackson McVey vs. Sedriques Dumas
- Max Griffin vs. Victor Valenzuela
Damon Martin contributed to this report
