Australian fighter Soa Palelei was forced off the UFC 161 fight card after last week’s reshuffle of the card however Fight News Australia can reveal through a reliable source that negotiations are underway for Palelei to face undefeated Ukraine youngster Nikita Krylov (pictured). UFC officials are yet to confirm the match-up.
Palelei was scheduled to meet Stipe Miocic at UFC 161 before Miocic got the call-up to face Roy Nelson on the main card, leaving Soa Palelei without a fight. Palelei will now have to wait a bit longer for his UFC return with the match-up against Krylov likely to be part of the UFC 164 card which is scheduled to be held at the BMO Harris Bradley Arena in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA on August 31.
Palelei (18-3) is currently on a eight win streak, with his last outing being a first round TKO against former UFC fighter Sean McCorkle at the Australian Fighting Championships 4 event in December. Palelei’s last loss occurred in November 2010 when he was out-wrestled by American Daniel Cormier who since then has gone on to become a leading contender in the UFC heavyweight division. The Western Australian fighter turned down a multi-fight contract with One Fighting Championships to chase his dream of appearing in the Ultimate Fighting Championships again. Palelei’s lone appearance in the UFC, was back at UFC 79 where he was stopped by Eddie Sanchez late in the fight.
At 20 years-old of age, Nikita Krylov will bring an undefeated 14-0 record to the Octagon as the Kyokushin Karate practitioner looks to make a big impact as Ukraine’s first fighter to get a shot in the UFC after recently being announced as having signed for the UFC. All of Krylov’s fights have ended in the opening round with 5 coming by KO or TKO and 9 by way of submission. In his last outing, Krylov defeated German heavyweight Gabriel Panda in the M-1 organisaton last month.
It was also previously announced by various sources that Palelei is on stand-by as a replacement should one of the heavyweights scheduled to fight at UFC 161 be forced off the card.
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