Eryk Anders fills in for injured Dricus Du Plessis, faces Andre Muniz at UFC 269
The injury bug has hit the final UFC pay-per-view event of 2021.
A middleweight contest between Dricus Du Plessis and Andre Muniz scheduled to take place at UFC 269 in December has been altered after Du Plessis pulled out of the bout due to an injury. MMA DNA first reported the news of the withdrawal.
All is not lost for Muniz (21-4 MMA, 3-0 UFC), however, because a replacement opponent has been found. Eryk Anders will step up on a month’s notice to compete in the middleweight contest. In addition to Muniz acknowledging the change on his Instagram story, MMA Junkie confirmed the new matchup with sources familiar with the situation.
The bout will be the third fight of the calendar year for Anders, who faced Darren Stewart twice. Their first meeting in March resulted in a no contest due to an illegal knee. The pair immediately ran it back three months later at UFC 263 where Anders would win via unanimous decision.
Muniz, a two-time Dana White’s Contender Series veteran, competed in his third UFC bout in May at UFC 262, when he broke Jacare Souza’s arm during an inverted armbar in the first round. Muniz is undefeated in his UFC tenure thus far and is currently riding a seven fight win streak.
With the change, the UFC 269 lineup includes:
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)
Charles Oliveira vs. Dustin Poirier – for lightweight title
Amanda Nunes vs. Julianna Pena – for women’s bantamweight title
Leon Edwards vs. Jorge Masvidal
Cody Garbrandt vs. Kai Kara-France
Sean O’Malley vs. Raulian Paiva
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN, ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET)
Geoff Neal vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio
Dominick Cruz vs. Pedro Munhoz
Josh Emmett vs. Dan Ige
Eryk Anders vs. Andre Muniz
Erin Blanchfield vs. Miranda Maverick
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 6 p.m. ET)
Alex Perez vs. Matt Schnell
Ryan Hall vs. Darrick Minner
Priscila Cachoeira vs. Gillian Robertson
Randy Costa vs. Tony Kelley
Bruno Silva vs. Jordan Wright