The upcoming UFC Fight Night card in Vancouver has a new headliner after Anthony Hernandez withdrew from the event, the UFC announced Monday.
Reinier de Ridder will now face fellow middleweight Brendan Allen at the Oct. 18 Fight Night card at Rogers Arena.
The specific reason why Hernandez was out of the scheduled matchup with de Ridder was not immediately disclosed.
De Ridder has burst onto the UFC scene as a former two-division ONE Championship titleholder. The 34-year-old from the Netherlands improved to 4-0 in the UFC in July with a five-round win over former 185-pound champion Robert Whittaker.
Hernandez is riding an eight-fight winning streak, and the matchup with de Ridder was considered a potential title eliminator.
Nassourdine Imavov is the current frontrunner to get the first shot at new middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev, but if de Ridder improves to 5-0 with an impressive performance, it’s possible he could jump to the front of the line.
Allen has lost decisions to both Imavov and Hernandez within the past 12 months, but is coming off a Fight of the Night victory over Marvin Vettori in their UFC 318 grudge match two months ago. The 29-year-old from Louisiana is the No. 11-ranked contender at middleweight; de Ridder is ranked No. 4.
The event will mark the organization’s first trip to Vancouver since UFC 289 in June of 2023.
Below are the matchups currently set for the event:
— Reinier de Ridder vs. Brendan Allen
— Kevin Holland vs. Mike Malott
— Manon Fiorot vs. Jasmine Jasudavicius
— Charles Jourdain vs. Davey Grant
— Bruno Gustavo da Silva vs. Park Hyun-sung
— Marlon Vera vs. Aiemann Zahabi
— Danny Barlow vs. Djorden Ribeiro dos Santos
— Kyle Prepolec vs. Drew Dober
— Azamat Bekoev vs. Yousri Belgaroui
— Stephanie Luciano vs. Ravena Oliveira
— Matt Frevola vs. Kyle Nelson
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