Heavyweights will headline the UFC’s return to North Carolina in May.
The promotion announced on Tuesday that the matchup between Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Jailton Almeida, which was first reported by MMA Fighting, will serve as the main event for UFC Charlotte, which takes place May 13 at the Spectrum Center.
Originally, the light heavyweight bout between Anthony Smith and Johnny Walker was slated to headline the event, however Smith told MMA Fighting’s Damon Martin that his fight will now serve as the co-main event.
“The UFC contacted my manager yesterday and said we were getting bumped to co-main event and the fight would now be three rounds,” Smith told MMA Fighting.
“I wasn’t told who the new main event would be. It is what it is. First fight of the night, last fight of the night or somewhere in between — it makes no difference to me. I’m focused on only myself and the things I can control.”
Rozenstruik is coming off of a 23-second knockout victory over Chris Daukaus at UFC 282. He is 7-4 in the UFC, with several fast finishes on his résumé, including a 29-second knockout of Andrei Arlovski and a nine-second knockout of Allen Crowder.
In four UFC appearances, Almeida has established himself as a top contender, with finishes of all of his octagon opponents thus far. Almeida most recently fought at UFC 283, where he finished heavyweight veteran Shamil Abdurakhimov via ground-and-pound knockout in the second round. The Brazilian standout has won 13 straight fights.
Damon Martin contributed to this report.
