Joel Alvarez already was training when he got the call for UFC 330.
Alvarez will replace Geoff Neal against Chidi Njokuani on Aug. 15 at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia (Paramount+). A person with knowledge of the situation confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. Alvaro Colmenero was first to report the news.
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Alvarez (23-4 MMA, 8-3 UFC) joined welterweight champion Islam Makhachev’s camp to help him prep for his title defense against Ian Machado Garry, which headlines UFC 330. After defeating Vicente Luque in his welterweight debut, the 33-year-old Spanish fighter saw his four-fight winning streak snapped by Yaroslav Amosov at UFC 328 in May.
After scoring three straight wins, including a TKO of Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos at UFC Fight Night 254, Njokuani (25-12 MMA, 5-5 UFC) dropped back-to-back fights against Jake Matthews and, most recently, Carlos Leal Miranda at UFC Fight Night 267 in February.
With the change, the UFC 330 fight card includes:
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Champion Islam Makhachev vs. Ian Machado Garry – for welterweight title
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Champion Mackenzie Dern vs. Gillian Robertson – for women’s strawweight title
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Edson Barboza vs. Esteban Ribovics
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Tresean Gore vs. Vicente Luque
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Mansur Abdul-Malik vs. Dustin Stoltzfus
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Myktybek Orolbai vs. Jeremiah Wells
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Joel Alvarez vs. Chidi Njokuani
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Ramiz Brahimaj vs. Neil Magny
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Kaue Fernandes vs. Jalin Turner
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Charles Johnson vs. Jose Ochoa
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Lucas Fernando vs. Rafael Tobias
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Donte Johnson vs. Eric McConico
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Geoff Neal out; Joel Alvarez steps in to face Chidi Njokuani at UFC 330
