Chris Barnett will get new opponent for long-awaited return

Chris Barnett has a brand new opponent for his long-awaited return to the UFC cage.

Junior Tafa has stepped into UFC Battle Night time 244 rather than Waldo Cortes-Acosta, the promotion not too long ago introduced. The three-round heavyweight bout will happen Oct. 12 on the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Cortes-Acosta’s supervisor Javier Torres, of Skillset Administration, informed MMA Junkie on Sunday an harm was trigger for his consumer’s withdrawal. Cortes-Acosta is anticipated to return in six to eight weeks.

Tafa (5-3 MMA, 1-3 UFC) most not too long ago competed at UFC 305 in August when he misplaced to Valter Walker by verbal submission. Tempers flared after the stoppage. Tafa slapped Walker and the 2 had been separated within the cage by safety after the combat. The loss was his second straight.

Barnett (23-8 MMA, 2-2 UFC) hasn’t competed since September 2022. He was booked for 2 different dates since, however withdrew from every. Barnett’s most up-to-date outing was a TKO in opposition to Jake Collier at UFC 279.

With the change, the UFC Battle Night time 244 lineup consists of:

• Brandon Royval vs. Tatsuro Taira
• Jun Yong Park vs. Brad Tavares
• Grant Dawson vs. Rafa Garcia
• Cory McKenna vs. Julia Polastri
• Alex Morono vs. Daniel Rodriguez
• Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Josh Fremd
• Jared Gooden vs. Chidi Njokuani
• Ramazonbek Temirov vs. CJ Vergara
• Jonathan Pearce vs. Pat Sabatini
• Themba Gorimbo vs. Niko Value
• Chris Barnett vs. Junior Tafa
• Dan Argueta vs. Cody Haddon
• Clayton Carpenter vs. Lucas Rocha

For extra on the cardboard, go to MMA Junkie’s occasion hub for UFC Battle Night time 244.