Azamat Murzakanov will now step in to face Brendson Ribeiro at UFC 316. This light heavyweight matchup was altered after Johnny Walker was forced to withdraw from the pay-per-view event scheduled for June 7 in Newark, New Jersey.
The specific reason for Walker`s removal from the bout has not yet been clarified.
Murzakanov (14-0) will aim to extend his impressive five-fight winning streak within the UFC when he competes in New Jersey. His most recent octagon appearance was in August 2024, where he secured a bonus-winning knockout against Alonzo Menifield, earning his second $50,000 performance award from the promotion. The undefeated fighter and former Brave CF Openweight Grand Prix champion also boasts prior UFC stoppage victories over Tafon Nchukwi and Devin Clark.
Ribeiro (17-7, 1 no contest), a former Shooto Brazil champion, experienced a challenging start to his UFC tenure with back-to-back losses against Zhang Mingyang and Magomed Gadzhiyasulov. However, he has since found his footing, securing a decision win over Caio Machado followed by a second-round kimura submission triumph against the previously unbeaten Diyar Nurgozhay in his latest outing.
UFC 316 is set to take place at the Prudential Center. The event`s headliner is a men`s bantamweight championship rematch where champion Merab Dvalishvili is slated to defend his title against Sean O’Malley. The co-main event features Julianna Peña competing for the women’s 135-pound belt against two-time PFL champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist Kayla Harrison.
