Francis Ngannou Gets Replacement Opponent Curtis Blaydes for UFC Fight Night Zagreb

Ultimate Fighting Championship has made an alteration to next month’s UFC Fight Night card in Zagreb, Croatia.

UFC’s French division on Monday announced that heavyweight Francis Ngannou -- who was scheduled to meet Bojan Mihajlovic at the April 10 event -- will instead face unbeaten prospect Curtis Blaydes in a three-round tilt. The reason for Mihajlovic’s withdrawal from the bout was not specified.

Ngannou made waves in December with a highlight-reel knockout of Luis Henrique Barbosa de Oliveira in his Octagon debut. The heavy-handed Frenchman has recorded finishes in all six victories on his ledger, with three stoppages and three submissions.

A former junior college wrestling standout, Blaydes joins the UFC after less than two years as a professional mixed martial artist. “Razor” comes fresh off a Feb. 16 knockout of Luis Cortez under the banner of Resurrection Fighting Alliance.