A fighter has pulled out of UFC Vegas 83 and it seems that Tim Elliot is coming to the rescue! Allan Nascimento has pulled out of his fight with Sumudaerji which was set for Saturday night (local time) in Las Vegas.
Nascimento reportedly withdrew from the fight due to injury. It left the UFC matchmakers scrambling to find a replacement in order to keep Sumudaerji on the card.
It sounds like a former UFC flyweight title challenger has risen to the challenge. Nothing has been officially confirmed but Tim Elliott announced on X, formerly known as Twitter, that he was flying to Las Vegas:
Boarding the ✈️ right meow
— Tim Elliott (@TElliott125) December 5, 2023
Ranked opponent
Elliot (19-13-1) earned a shot at Demetrious Johnson after winning TUF 24. He has been on the roster since 2016 and is coming off a submission loss to Muhammad Mokaev at UFC 294.
Sumudaerji (16-5) has three wins and three losses from his previous six UFC fights. He was last seen in action at UFC on ABC 3 where he was submitted in the second round by Matt Schnell.
He might think this is a more difficult fight as Elliott is #11 while Nascimento was unranked. But at least it provides an opportunity for the #12 ranked Sumudaerji to break into the top ten for the first time.
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Bantamweight headliner
The event had been scheduled to take place at the Mercedez Benz Arena in Shanghai but was moved to the Apex Centre in Las Vegas. A few bouts have already been removed from the card but Song Yadong is set to face Chris Gutierrez in a bantamweight headliner.
Yadong was scheduled to fight Rob Font at UFC 292. He pulled out of that fight with an undisclosed injury but appears to be back in training in China.
He is based permanently at Team Alpha Male in California. But Yadong, who is coming off a win over Ricky Simon at UFC Vegas 72, now appears to be back in his homeland.
He had been expected to face Petr Yan but instead the Chinese bantamweight has been matched with Gutierrez (20-4-2). He is coming off a win over Yadong’s compatriot Alateng Heili at UFC Vegas 81.
Gutierrez also holds a win over Mongolia’s Danaa Batgerel. The American is #14 at bantamweight while Yadong sits significantly higher in the rankings at #7.
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Asian flavour
The card still has a distinctly Asian flavour and will feature Road to UFC flyweight tournament winner Hyun Sung Park. The undefeated Korean has been matched with Shannon Ross.
A middleweight veteran from Korea is also in action. Jun Yong Park will be looking for his fifth straight UFC win when he takes on André Muniz.
Meanwhile undefeated Japanese flyweight Tatsuro Taira will be looking to build on his exciting start to life in the octagon when he takes on Carlos Hernandez.
Nasrat Haqparast and Jamie Mullarkey were originally booked to face off in a lightweight fight at UFC 284. The Afghan pulled out but the bout has been rescheduled for December 9th.
What an armbar by @TatsuroTaira 💪 #UFCVegas62
pic.twitter.com/ws43EhKXdb— UFC (@ufc) October 15, 2022
History repeating
This is the second time this year that a card in Asia has been moved to Las Vegas at relatively late notice. UFC Seoul was cancelled when the Korean Zombie got injured, that event was switched to the Apex Centre too.
UFC Vegas 83, Shanghai, December 9th
Song Yadong vs. Chris Gutierrez (Bantamweight)
André Muniz vs. Park Jun-Yong (Middleweight)
Tatsuro Taira vs. Carlos Hernandez (Flyweight)
Nasrat Haqparast vs. Jamie Mullarkey (Lightweight)
Hyun-Sung Park vs. Shannon Ross (Flyweight)
Sumudaerji vs. Tim Elliott (Flyweight)
Song Kenan vs. Kevin Jousset (Welterweight)
Steve Garcia vs. Melquizael Costa (Lightweight)
Luana Santos vs. Stephanie Egger (Bantamweight)
Daniel Marcos vs. Carlos Vera (Catchweight)
Rayanne dos Santos vs. Talita Alencar (Strawweight)
