Parker Porter to Face Newcomer Slim Trabelsi at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi

Parker Porter will welcome Tunisian heavyweight Slim Trabelsi to the Octagon at UFC 280 on Oct. 22.

ESPN was first to report the booking. UFC 280 takes place at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi and is headlined by a lightweight championship clash between Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev. Porter was initially slated to face Hamdy Abdelwahab on the card.

The 37-year-old Porter had a three-fight winning streak snapped in his last outing, when he was submitted by Jailton Almeida in the opening stanza at UFC Fight Night 206. Prior to that defeat, Porter had earned successive decision wins against Josh Parisian, Chase Sherman and Alan Baudot.

Trabelsi is 5-0 in his burgeoning MMA career with a notable victory over six-time UFC veteran Luis Henrique Barbosa de Oliveira to his credit. According to the ESPN report, he is based at the MMA Factory in France and has trained with the likes of Francis Ngannou and Ciryl Gane.