Outside Source
First broken by reporter Laerte Viana on Thursday night, Mohammed Usman (11-4) has sustained an undisclosed injury and has been ejected from his heavyweight match with Valter Walker (14-1). It is unclear at this time if the organization will be able to snag a local heavyweight to face Walker by the weigh-ins on Friday. If not, the promotion has yet to indicate if it will preserve the match or relocate these two fighters to other bouts down the line. Multiple outlets as well as Walker himself on his Instagram Stories confirmed the news of the shakeup at UFC Rio.
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Since dropping his promotional debut in April 2024, Walker has not looked back. The big man has earned a new nickname of “The Foot Hunter” thanks to three heel hook submissions performed in his three wins to date—the third of which of the inverted variety. With those under his belt, he and Rousimar Palhares are the lone combatants in company history to land more than one of these rare submissions.
Foot Safe…For Now
“The Motor” Usman ended a two-fight skid in June by taking a decision over Hamdy Abdelwahab. The sizeable Nigerian has gone to decision in five consecutive fights dating to his win on the scorecards over Junior Tafa. These decisions account for the majority of the Kill Cliff FC athlete’s fights to hear the final bell. Usman had only been submitted once, when Brandon Sayles put him to sleep in 2021.
UFC Rio, also known as UFC Fight Night 261, will carry on at the Farmasi Arena in Rio de Janeiro on Oct. 11. The main attraction will come between former lightweight king Charles Oliveira and Mateusz Gamrot, the former in a homecoming match. In the co-headlining spot, ex-flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo looks to end a win streak at the expense of power-punching Montel Jackson.
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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