Sergey Spivak to Make Octagon Debut vs. Walt Harris at UFC Ottawa

Sergey Spivak will be making his Octagon debut on short notice when he faces Walt Harris at UFC Ottawa on May 4.

The promotion announced the new heavyweight pairing on Tuesday. Spivak steps in for Alexey Oleynik, who was transported to face Alistair Overeem at UFC St. Petersburg on April 20 after Alexander Volkov was pulled from that card.

A 24-year-old native of Kiev, Ukraine, Spivak is unbeaten in nine professional appearances. “The Polar Bear” last appeared at World Warriors Fighting Championship 12 on Sept. 29, where he submitted well-traveled veteran Tony Lopez with a neck crank in the opening stanza. Spivak has finished all of his victories by knockout, technical knockout or submission.

Harris, meanwhile, had a recent win over Andrei Arlovski at UFC 232 overturned to a no contest due to an anti-doping violation. Prior to that bout, “The Big Ticket” is 3-2 in his last five appearances with the Las Vegas-based promotion.

UFC Fight Night 150 takes place at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada and is headlined by a lightweight clash between Al Iaquinta and Donald Cerrone. The card will stream on ESPN+.