UFC 294 Main Card Fight Cancelled, TUF Winner Steps In on Short Notice

UFC 294's main card takes a hit.

Nassourdine Imavov is out of his Oct 21 bout with Ikram Aliskerov on the main card of UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi. Imavov faced Visa issues which forced his withdrawal. It is the second time Imavov's Visa issues have cancelled a fight.

ALSO READ: Dana White Reveals Backup Fighter For UFC 294 Title Fight

Aliskerov will now face 'The Ultimate Fighter' season 3 winner Warlley Alves, who makes his second UFC appearance in almost three years. Alves has been a UFC mainstay since 2015, going 8-6 in the promotion, beating Colby Covington and losing to Kamaru Usman in the process.

As much as it hurts the UFC 294 main card to have this cancellation, the new fight makes more sense from a matchmaking perspective. Aliskerov debuted against and knocked out Phil Hawes, and was immediately scheduled to face the No.4 ranked middleweight Paulo Costa.

VIDEO: Former UFC Fighter Scores Terrific KO With Barrage Of Punches

When Costa was rescheduled against Khamzat Chimaev, Aliskerov received No. 11 Imavov. Fans saw how fast-tracking unranked prospects can backfire when Abus Magomedov was dismantled by Sean Strickland in July, so Alves is a replacement befitting Aliskerov's position in the rankings.

The new UFC 294 lineup looks like this (subject to change):

• Shara Magomedov vs. Bruno Silva
• Viktoriia Dudakova vs. Jinh Yu Frey
• Nathaniel Wood vs. Muhammad Naimov
• Mike Breeden vs. Anshul Jubli
• Abu Azaitar vs. Sedriques Dumas
• Javid Basharat vs. Victor Henry
• Mohammad Yahya vs. Trevor Peek
• Tim Elliott vs. Muhammad Mokaev
• Said Nurmagomedov vs. Muin Gafurov
• Warlley Alves vs. Ikram Aliskerov
• Magomed Ankalaev vs. Johnny Walker
• Paulo Costa vs. Khamzat Chimaev
• Islam Makhachev vs. Charles Oliveira

View the full 2023 UFC schedule here, or check out the new 2024 schedule here.

Stick with MMA Knockout for more daily coverage of the UFC and MMA

Follow MMA Knockout on Twitter and Facebook.