The featured light heavyweight bout at UFC 303 will see yet another opponent change.
Carlos Ulberg has been forced out of his June 29 main card matchup vs. Anthony Smith at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Replacing Ulberg will be Roman Dolidze, who returns to light heavyweight.
The UFC officially announced the news Friday following an initial report from Vestnik MMA. Benny P was first to report Ulberg’s withdrawal, although a reason hasn’t been disclosed.
Ulberg (9-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) landed on UFC 303 by replacing Khalil Rountree against Jamahal Hill. Hill was then forced out due a knee injury. and was replaced by Smith (38-19 MMA, 13-9 UFC). Now Smith will take on Dolidze, who started out his career at 205 pounds.
After winning four straight, including three finishes over Kyle Daukaus, Phil Hawes, and Jack Hermansson, Dolidze (12-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) dropped back-to-back decisions to Marvin Vettori and Nassourdine Imavov.
Former title challenger Smith was looking to halt the momentum of another rising contender after submitting Vitor Petrino in just two minutes at UFC 301, handing the Brazilian his first-career loss. The former title challenger has won two of his past three.
The latest UFC 303 lineup includes:
MAIN CARD (ESPN+ pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)
- Alex Pereira vs. Jiri Prochazka
- Diego Lopes vs. Brian Ortega
- Roman Dolidze vs. Anthony Smith
- Mayra Bueno Silva vs. Macy Chiasson
- Ian Machado Garry vs. Michael Page
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN/ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET)
- Marc-Andre Barriault vs. Joe Pyfer
- Andre Fili vs. Cub Swanson
- Charles Jourdain vs. Jean Silva
- Yanis Ghemmouri vs. Payton Talbott
EARLY PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 6 p.m. ET)
- Gillian Robertson vs. Michelle Waterson-Gomez
- Andrei Arlovski vs. Martin Buday
- Carlos Hernandez vs. Rei Tsuruya
- Vinicius Oliveira vs. Ricky Simon
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 303.
