Overview

• Fares Ziam announced on Instagram that he is out of UFC Paris due to the sudden death of his grandmother and related funeral arrangements.
• Kauê Fernandes will remain on the card, with multiple outlets reporting—and MMAmania stating confirmed—that Harry Hardwick steps in on short notice at lightweight.
• Hardwick, the Cage Warriors featherweight titleholder, takes the fight up a division and arrives on a lengthy unbeaten run to make his UFC debut.
• The replacement restores the main-card matchup and keeps the event’s slate largely intact after brief uncertainty about Fernandes’ status.
• UFC Paris takes place Sept. 6 at Accor Arena, headlined by Nassourdine Imavov vs. Caio Borralho, with Benoît Saint-Denis vs. Maurício Ruffy and Patrício Pitbull vs. Losene Keita also featured.