With Albert Duraev out, Cody Brundage steps in to face Michal Oleksiejczuk at UFC Fight Night 216
Cody Brundage will look to round out his 2022 with one more win.
Albert Duraev has been forced out of UFC Fight Night 216 and Brundage (8-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) will step in on short notice to face Michal Oleksiejczuk (17-5 MMA, 5-3 UFC) on Dec. 17 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Two people with knowledge of the booking confirmed it to MMA Junkie on Friday. The people asked to remain anonymous since the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.
After dropping his promotional debut in Nick Maximov at UFC 266, Brundage rebounded with back-to-back first-round finishes of Dalcha Lungiambula and Tresean Gore in 2022.
Winner of three of his past four, Oleksiejczuk is coming off a first-round TKO of Sam Alvey at UFC on ESPN 40 in August. Six of the Polish fighter’s past seven wins have come in the first round.
The latest UFC Fight Night 216 lineup now includes:
Jared Cannonier vs. Sean Strickland
Damir Ismagulov vs. Arman Tsarukyan
Julian Marquez vs. Deron Winn
Tafon Nchukwi vs. Jamal Pogues
Sergey Morozov vs. Journey Newson
Amir Albazi vs. Brandon Royval
Cody Brundage vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk
Rinat Fakhretdinov vs. opponent TBA
Rafa Garcia vs. Hayisaer Maheshate
Saidyokub Kakhramonov vs. Said Nurmagomedov
Alex Caceres vs. Julian Erosa
Tafon Nchukwi vs. Vitor Petrino
Jake Matthews vs. Matt Semelsberger