Shara Magomedov‘s sophomore UFC appearance will feature a last-minute opponent change to Antonio Trocoli, who steps in on short notice after Joilton Lutterbach was pulled due to a substance found in his urine.
Shara Magomedov will have quite a story to tell about his sophomore UFC appearance.
On Wednesday, UFC CEO Dana White announced that Magomedov is no longer facing Joilton Lutterbach at Saturday’s UFC Saudi Arabia card. The reasons remain undisclosed. Replacing Lutterbach is Antonio Trocoli, who steps in on three days’ notice. Trocoli becomes Magomedov’s third different scheduled opponent for the event.
Following the announcement, Lutterbach revealed on Instagram that he was pulled from the fight because of “a substance found in my urine.” Quite the twist, right?
Trocoli was initially slated to face Ikram Aliskerov at this past Saturday’s UFC Vegas 93 event. However, that bout was scratched after Aliskerov stepped in for Khamzat Chimaev to face Robert Whittaker in the main event of the promotion’s first trip to Saudi Arabia. After nearly two years on the roster and now four scheduled bookings, Trocoli makes his UFC debut riding a four-fight unbeaten streak.
Magomedov is 12-0 as a pro with 10 knockouts. Impressive record! In his octagon debut, “Bullet” earned a unanimous decision victory over Bruno Silva at UFC 294 this past October.
What a whirlwind of changes and surprises!