At the moment, the matchmakers of the organization are trying to leave the undefeated Kazakh fighter on the card of the event and are looking for a new opponent for him.
The welterweight fight was announced as the second most important event of the UFC Fight Night 217 tournament, which will take place on January 14 in Las Vegas.
32-year-old Jeff Neal scored two victories in a row, winning a split decision over Santiago Ponzinibbio and knocking out Vicente Luque.
Shavkat Rakhmonov, 28, is leading a four-fight streak in the UFC, finishing with Neil Magny’s guillotine choke in his last fight.