Dricus Du Plessis has a new opponent for UFC 273.
Multiple people with knowledge of the promotion’s plans confirmed to MMA Fighting that a wrist injury has forced Chris Curtis out of the UFC’s April pay-per-view event, and Du Plessis will now face Anthony Hernandez. The card takes place April 9 at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla.
Hernandez was originally slated to face Albert Duraev at the event. Per sources, Duraev has been scratched him from the card with a rib injury. “Fluffy” will make his first appearance since picking up a memorable submission win over Rodolfo Vieira at UFC 258 in December 2019.
Du Plessis won his fourth straight title, as well as 12 out of 13 all-time. The former KSW welterweight champion has kicked off his UFC tenure with back-to-back finishes of Markus Perez and Trevin Giles at UFC 264.
UFC 273 currently has 14 bouts on the slate, with a featherweight title fight between Alexander Volkanovski and “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung in the main event. Aljamain Sterling takes on Petr Yan in a rematch for the bantamweight championship in the co-main event.
