Cody Garbrandt out of UFC 255 flyweight title fight, will be replaced by Alex Perez

Former UFC bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt is out of his planned UFC 255 title fight with reigning flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo. Alex Perez, who was scheduled to take on Brandon Moreno on the same card, will now step in against the champion.

Brazilian publication Combate was first to report the news that Garbrandt is out of the fight. BJPENN.com has since confirmed the news.

Cody Garbrandt deixa luta, e Deiveson Figueiredo vai enfrentar Alex Perez pelo cinturão | combate | ge – com @marbarone https://t.co/mK9h1F8RF9

— Raphael Marinho (@raphamarinho) October 2, 2020

Breaking report from Combate’s @raphamarinho: Cody Garbrandt is out of his bout against Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC 255 and is being replaced by Alex Perez.

Perez was scheduled to face Brandon Moreno at the event. https://t.co/9wpbTJXLFm

— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) October 2, 2020

Wallid Ismail tells me, “Cody is injured, Alex is in. We don’t care about the opponent switch, same result. Deiveson by stoppage, And Still.” #UFC255

— Cole Shelton (@ColeShelton91) October 2, 2020

Deiveson Figueiredo became the UFC flyweight champion when he defeated Joseph Benavidez via first-round submission this summer. The pair originally collided for the vacant flyweight title in February, but Figueiredo’s initial victory over Benavidez did not earn him the belt because missed weight for the fight.

Cody Garbrandt, who held the UFC bantamweight title for a period in 2016 and 2017, recently rebounded from a trio of knockout losses to TJ Dillashaw (twice) and Pedro Munhoz with a highlight reel knockout of Raphael Assuncao. While this victory thrust him back into title contention in the bantamweight division, he instead opted to drop down to flyweight, and was offered an immediate title shot against the new champion despite never having competed in the weight class before.

Stepping in to replace Garbrandt is the streaking Perez, who is riding three-straight wins in the strawweight division, having recently defeated Mark De La Rosa by decision, Jordan Espinosa via arm triangle choke, and Jussier Formiga via TKO.

At this time, the reasons for Garbrandt’s withdrawal from the fight with Figueiredo are unclear.

UFC 255 goes down on November 21, and is expected to emanate from the UFC Apex facility in Las Vegas.