Chris Daukaus vs. Shamil Abdurakhimov Pushed Back One Week to UFC on ESPN 28

A heavyweight clash pitting Chris Daukaus against Shamil Abdurakhimov that was originally slated for UFC on ESPN 27 this Saturday has been pushed back one week.

Multiple outlets confirmed the change following an initial announcement from Daukaus via Twitter. Daukaus revealed that COVID-19 protocols forced the postponement, and MMAjunkie.com later reported that a positive test in the Abdurakhimov camp was the cause.

Fight pushed back until next week, Covid strikes again! Thank you for everyone for the support! pic.twitter.com/etIN1s2rVr

— Chris Daukaus (@ChrisDaukausMMA) July 19, 2021

Daukaus vs. Abdurakhimov will now take place at UFC on ESPN 28 on July 31. That card takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a middleweight showdown between Uriah Hall and Sean Strickland.

Daukaus is on a four-bout winning streak – including three in UFC competition. The 31-year-old Philadelphia native has kicked off his promotional tenure with first-round finishes of Parker Porter, Rodrigo Nascimento Ferreira and Alexey Oleynik. He is 11-3 as a pro and has finished 10 of those triumphs inside the distance.

Abdurakhimov hasn’t competed since September 2019, when he suffered a second-round TKO defeat to Curtis Blaydes at UFC 242. Prior to that, the 39-year-old Dagestani was on a three-bout winning streak within the Las Vegas-based promotion.