Ciryl Gane is trading one veteran opponent for another.
The UFC announced Tuesday that Gane (6-0) will fight Croatia’s Ante Delija (17-3) at a UFC event on Oct. 17 in Abu Dhabi. Delija steps in for Shamil Abdurakhimov, who withdrew from the bout for undisclosed reasons.
Russian reporter Igor Lazarin was first to report Abdurakhimov’s withdrawal, while French site La Sueur was first to report Delija’s involvement.
This is the second time that Gane and Abdurakhimov have had a meeting canceled. They were set to fight at UFC 249 on April 18, but Gane withdrew due to pneumothorax.