Harry Hardwick is now on the UFC roster with his promotional debut just days away.
On Monday, Hardwick (13-3-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) got the official call-up to fight Saturday at UFC Fight Night 258 in Paris, replacing Fares Ziam to fight Kaue Fernandes. The lightweight bout takes place at Accor Arena. The promotion announced the news Tuesday following an initial report by Italian reporter Al Zullino.
Hardwick, 30, held the Cage Warriors featherweight title at the time of his signing and already notched two title defenses under the promotion’s banner. He is 8-1 in his most recent nine bouts and has seven finishes in 13 career victories. Hardwick’s brother, George Hardwick (13-3), is a staple of Cage Warriors, for which he previously held its lightweight title.
Fernandes (10-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) is a protege of the great Jose Aldo. Although he dropped his promotional debut to Marc Diakiese, Fernandes has passed both of his tests since with flying colors. He first defeated Mohammad Yahya by first-round TKO before a unanimous decision win over Guram Kutateladze.
With the change, the UFC Fight Night 258 lineup includes:
- Nassourdine Imavov vs. Caio Borralho
- Benoit Saint Denis vs. Mauricio Ruffy
- Mason Jones vs. Bolaji Oki
- Modestas Bukauskas vs. Paul Craig
- Harry Hardwick vs. Kaue Fernandes
- Patricio Freire vs. Losene Keita
- Brendson Ribeiro vs. Oumar Sy
- Ante Delija vs. Marcin Tybura
- Rinat Fakhretdinov vs. Andreas Gustafsson
- William Gomis vs. Robert Ruchala
- Sam Patterson vs. Trey Waters
- Robert Bryczek vs. Brad Tavares
- Shauna Bannon vs. Sam Hughes
