Fight booking wire (March 15-21): LFA 103 lineup includes Spike Carlyle headliner

Johnny Eduardo’s 33-month layoff from MMA competition will continue. Due to visa issues, Eduardo (28-12 MMA, 3-4 UFC) has withdrawn from his bantamweight fight vs. Anthony Birchak that was scheduled for Saturday at UFC on ESPN 21. Birchak (15-7 MMA, 2-3 UFC) is now in need of a new opponent.

– Johnny Eduardo confirmed the news on Instagram, March 15 (first reported by MMA Fighting)

Julian Erosa (24-8 MMA, 3-4 UFC) will look to continue the success he’s found now in his third stint with the UFC. He’ll take on Seung Woo Choi (9-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC) in a featherweight fight on the UFC Fight Night card taking place June 19.

– Both fighters confirmed the booking on Instagram, March 15 (first reported by John Hyon Ko)

Movsar Evloev vs. Hakeem Dawodu

Undefeated Movsar Evloev (14-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) is set to take on Hakeem Dawodu (12-1-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) at UFC 263 on June 12 at a location still to be announced. Evloev stayed unbeaten in January when he took a split decision from Nik Lentz at UFC 257 in Abu Dhabi. Dawodu, who has won five straight, picked up a performance bonus with a head kick knockout of Yoshinori Horie at UFC 240. Since then, he has two more wins – both by split decision – against Julio Arce and Zubaira Tukhugov, the latter of which came this past September on “Fight Island.”

– Confirmed by Farah Hannoun at 6:15 p.m. ET on March 15 (first reported by MMA DNA)

Keoni Diggs vs. Derek Campos, Bellator 246

Hawaii’s Keoni Diggs (9-0 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) is out of his Bellator 255 lightweight fight against Mandel Nallo (7-1 MMA, 2-1 BMMA), a promotion official told MMA Junkie on Monday. Bellator is seeking a replacement for the April 2 event at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. Diggs choked Derek Campos unconscious in the final second of their three-round fight in September 2020 Nallo most recently competed at Bellator 249 this past October and hit Saad Awad in the groin hard enough that the fight ended in a no contest.

– First reported by Nolan King at 8 p.m. ET on March 15

Kamaru Usman vs. Jorge Masvidal 2

The UFC will be back in Florida in front of a full-capacity crowd. UFC 261 takes place April 24 at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla., the UFC announced Monday.

In the main event, welterweight champion Kamaru Usman (18-1 MMA, 13-0 UFC)meets Jorge Masvidal (35-14 MMA, 14-8 UFC) in a rematch. In the co-feature, women’s flyweight champ Valentina Shevchenko (20-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC) takes on challenger Jessica Andrade (21-8 MMA, 12-6 UFC). And in the third title fight, women’s strawweight titleholder Zhang Weili (21-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) takes on former champ Rose Namajunas (9-4 MMA, 7-3 UFC).

The event will be the UFC’s first in front of fans since before the COVID-19 pandemic hit full-on panic mode in March 2020. After that, the UFC put on several shows in Jacksonville – but without fans in attendance.

The highly-anticipated middleweight contender bout between Paulo Costa and Robert Whittaker won’t be happening on April 17. On Monday, Costa (14-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) withdrew from the UFC Fight Night event due to an illness. It is unclear whether or not Whittaker (22-5 MMA, 13-3 UFC) will remain on the card or if the matchup will be shifted to a later date.

– Confirmed by Mike Bohn, Tuesday at 12:54 a.m. ET (first reported by MMA Fighting)

Jorge Masvidal protege Roman Faraldo (4-0 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) is back. He’ll take on six-foot-seven Trevor Gudde (2-1 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) in a welterweight fight on the preliminary card of Bellator 255, which takes place April 2. Both fighters had impressive showings at Bellator 252 in November, winning their promotional debuts by knee and punches.

– First reported by Nolan King, Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. ET

Robert Whittaker vs. Kelvin Gastelum

Kelvin Gastelum has stepped up with Robert Whittaker (22-5 MMA, 13-3 UFC) in need of an opponent for the UFC’s April 17 event. Gastelum will replace Paulo Costa, who withdrew Monday due to illness, in the main event.

Gastelum (16-6 MMA, 11-6 UFC) and Whittaker (22-5 MMA, 13-3 UFC) were scheduled to fight at UFC 234 in February 2019, but Whittaker withdrew on the day of the fight due to a hernia. Gastelum snapped a three-fight skid in February when he beat Ian Henisch with a unanimous decision. Whittaker is on a two-fight winning streak with back-to-back unanimous decision victories against Darren Till and Jared Cannonier since losing the UFC middleweight championship to Israel Adesanya in October 2019.

– Confirmed by Mike Bohn at 6:25 p.m. ET on March 16 (first reported by Milenio)

Aug 10, 2019; Montevideo, MO, Uruguay; Rodrigo Kazula Vargas (red gloves) vs. Alex “Leko” da Silva (blue gloves) during UFC at Antel Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jason Silva-USA TODAY Sports

China’s Zhu Rong is set to make his promotional debut April 24 at UFC 261 in Jacksonville, Fla. A product of the UFC Shanghai Performance Institute, Rong (17-3 MMA, 0-0 UFC) is the WLF lightweight champion. He rides a 10-fight winning streak. His opponent will be Rodrigo Vargas. A Mexican lightweight, Vargas (11-4 MMA, 0-2 UFC) has lost two fights in a row. The most recent one came in February 2020 via disqualification due to an illegal knee.

– Confirmed by Danny Segura, Tuesday at 6:42 p.m. ET (first reported by MMA DNA)

Feb 29, 2020; Norfolk, Virginia, USA; Spike Cralyle (blue gloves) celebrates beating Aalon Cruz (red gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Chartway Arena. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports

LFA will close out a three-event run in Oklahoma later this month. LFA 103 is set for March 26 at the Grand Casino Hotel & Resort in Shawnee, the promotion announced Tuesday.

In the main event, Spike Carlyle (9-3) returns following a three-fight run in the UFC to take on Batsumberel Dagvadorj (7-1) at lightweight. Carlyle won his UFC debut with a TKO of Aalon Cruz, but will be looking to build back to that level after back-to-back decision losses. Dagvadorj, from Mongolia, dropped a decision to Maycon Mendonca for the LFA lightweight title in the promotion’s 2020 “Fight of the Year” and will be looking for a return to the win column after a 7-0 start to his pro career.

The LFA 103 card includes:

MAIN CARD (UFC Fight Pass, 9 p.m. ET)

• Spike Carlyle vs. Batsumberel Dagvadorj
• Cynthia Arceo vs. Vanessa Demopoulos
• Abdul Kareem Al-Selwady vs. Jake Sebastion
• Isaiah Batin-Gonzalez vs. Fernie Garcia
• Rodney Kealohi vs. Juancamilo Ronderos
• Dallas Jennings vs. Josh Quinlan

PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook)

• Cameron Ansel vs. Jacobi Jones
• Giovanna Canuto vs. Amanda Lovato

– Announced by LFA officials March 16 at 8 p.m. ET

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – NOVEMBER 14: (R-L) Don’Tale Mayes punches Roque Martinez of Guam in a heavyweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on November 14, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

Don’Tale Mayes is out of UFC on ESPN 21 this Saturday. Scheduled to take on Tai Tuivasa, Mayes (8-4 MMA, 1-2 UFC) was pulled from the matchup when he failed to receive medical clearance. Tuivasa (10-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC) is expected to remain on the card against a soon-to-be-announced opponent.

– First reported by John Morgan and Nolan King, Wednesday at 12:50 a.m. ET