Ihor Potieria Agrees to Fight Michel Pereira at UFC 301 in Rio de Janeiro

Ihor Potieria will be returning to action a little sooner than originally anticipated.

The 27-year-old Ukraine native will step in and face Michel Pereira at UFC 301 on May 4 in Rio de Janeiro. Potieria is a replacement for Makhmud Muradov, who recently announced his withdrawal from the event. Multiple outlets confirmed the new middleweight booking following an initial report from MMA Mania. Potieira was originally slated to face Sharabutdin Magomedov at UFC Saudi Arabia on June 22 before accepting the fight against Pereira.

UFC 301 takes place at Rio Arena and is headlined by a flyweight title tilt pitting Alexandre Pantoja against Steve Erceg.

Potieira snapped a two-bout skid in his first appearance of 2024, as he took a unanimous decision win against Robert Bryczek at UFC Fight Night 236 on Feb. 10. “The Duelist” is 2-3 during his promotional tenure and 20-5 as a professional overall.

Pereira, meanwhile, has won seven straight UFC bouts. Most recently, “Demolidor” submitted Michal Oleksiejczuk in 61 seconds at UFC 299 on March 9.