Mauricio Ruffy gets new opponent for UFC 309

Wednesday, October 30, 2024 - 03:12

Mauricio Ruffy | Photo by Alexandre Loureiro/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

James Llontop will step in and face Mauricio Ruffy at UFC 309 on Nov. 16, MMA Fighting has confirmed following a report by Te La Canté MMA. The pay-per-view show will take place at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Llontop replaces Charlie Campbell, who withdrew from the card six days ago due to undisclosed reasons.

Ruffy (10-1) made waves in the lightweight division by knocking out Jamie Mullarkey in spectacular fashion in his octagon debut back in May, pocketing a performance bonus for his effort at UFC 301. The Brazilian talent joined the UFC after stopping Raimond Magomedaliev at Dana White’s Contender Series.

Llontop (14-4), a fellow DWCS alumni, has yet to win under the UFC banner. “Goku” came in a half pound overweight for his debut, tapping to a rear-naked choke versus Chris Padilla in April, before dropping a split decision to Viacheslav Borshchev four months later.

UFC 309 will feature Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic for the heavyweight crown in the headlining attraction, with Charles Oliveira vs. Michael Chandler serving as the co-main event.