After John Lineker pulled out due to illness, Cody Garbrandt will now fight Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace Augusto Mendes at UFC Fight Night 83 on Sunday evening in Pittsburgh.
Mendes is not only be coming in on just a few days notice, but will also be making his UFC debut. However, the 32 year-old is no stranger to high level competition, as he’s a multiple time jiu-jitsu world champion and is currently undefeated in his five fight MMA run.
This isn’t the first time Mendes has been invited to serve as a late replacement for the UFC, having been given the opportunity to fight Charles Rosa at UFC Fight Night 81 in January, but then being forced to pull out just a few hours later due to a rib injury.
As for Garbrandt, the 24 year-old Team Alpha Male product has been turning heads in the UFC’s bantamweight division since joining the promotion early last year, racking up two victories to date, bringing his career record to 7-0.
With the main card now intact again UFC Fight Night 83 proceeds with a main event that also had to be altered on relatively short notice, with Donald Cerrone now making his welterweight debut against Alex Oliveira instead of Tim Means.
