Rising middleweight star Dricus Du Plessis has been forced to pull out of his UFC 269 fight with Andre Muniz on December 11th due to an undisclosed injury.
The 27-year-old South African has made an immediate impression in the Octagon, starting with a first round KO of Markus Perez in his promotional debut in October of last year, followed by another KO finish against Trevin Giles in July.
That leaves the former EFC Africa and KSW fighter with an overall career record of 16-2 heading into this fight as he looked to forge a path into the middleweight rankings.
With a month to go until fight night it’s likely that Muniz will find a new opponent as he too looks to build on an impressive start to his time in the UFC.
So far the former Contender Series prospect has compiled three wins in a row inside the Octagon, beginning with a unanimous decision victory over Antonio Arroyo, then a first round submission finish of Bartosz Fabinski.
However, it was another first round submission of elite BJJ player Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza in May of this year that really put Muniz on the middleweight map.
With Du Plessis vs. Muniz scratched from the card, UFC 269 still proceeds with a big card that’ll be headlined by a lightweight title fight between Charles Oliviera and Dustin Poirier alongside a women’s bantamweight title showdown featuring Amanda Nunes and Julianna Pena.