Islam Makhachev Out; Michel Prazeres Faces Mads Burnell at UFC Fight Night 115 Instead

Brazilian lightweight Michel Prazeres was slated to face Islam Makhachev at UFC Fight Night 115 next month, but that is no longer going to happen. With Makhachev unable to compete and removed from the bout, Prazeres will now take on debuting Dane Mads Burnell instead, according to an MMAJunkie.com report on Saturday evening. UFC officials subsequently confirmed the report.

No explanation was given for Makhachev's removal.

Prazeres is one of the best contenders at lightweight as he’s quickly ascending the rankings ladder. “Trator” has won his last four bouts, with his latest triumph coming via first-round north-south choke of longtime veteran Joshua Burkman at UFC Fight Night 106 in March. Prazeres has had his hand raised in six of his last seven outings, with the lone loss coming to rising prospect Kevin Lee at UFC Fight Night 60 more than two years ago.

Denmark’s Burnell also been on fire inside the cage. Since suffering the only loss of his career nearly two years ago, the Danish fighter has won his last three bouts, including two via submission.

UFC Fight Night 115 takes place Sep. 2 at Ahoy Rotterdam in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The event will be headlined by a heavyweight contest between Dutchman Stefan Struve and Alexander Volkov, with former UFC women's featherweight champion Germaine de Randamie taking on Marion Reneau in the bantamweight co-feature. Fox Sports 1 will carry the main card and the bulk of the prelims while UFC Fight Pass will stream the opening preliminaries.