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First UFC Fight Night Event of November Hit With Late Change

Which of these heavyweight fighters will get their hand raised on November 7?
Drew Beaupre|
(Zuffa LLC)

The first UFC card of November has undergone a personnel change just a couple of weeks out from the event.

The 2026 schedule for the world’s leading MMA promotion is rapidly drawing to a close, and last weekend fight fans were treated to one of the most highly-anticipated cards of the year when UFC 333 took place in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

The event topped by two huge title bouts, which saw Petr Yan close out his trilogy with Merab Dvalishvili when he successfully defended the bantamweight belt in a “Fight of the Night”-winning scrap before Alexander Volkanovski also defended his featherweight belt by knocking out the formerly-undefeated Movsar Evloev.

UFC Vegas 124 Gets New Fight After Late Withdrawal

UFC 333, and in particular the card’s two title fights, were celebrated by MMA fans as a welcome break from recent UFC cards loaded with low-stakes fights and more than a few bouts with extremely lopsided betting odds.

Alexander Volkanovski (red gloves) is introduced before his match against Diego Lopes (not pictured) during UFC 314 at Kaseya
Alexander Volkanovski (red gloves) is introduced before his match against Diego Lopes (not pictured) during UFC 314 at Kaseya Center. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The UFC will return home to Las Vegas this weekend for UFC Vegas 123, which is headlined by Renato Moicano and Tom Nolan and is the first of back-to-back cards at the promotion’s Meta APEX facility.

Beneil Dariush (red gloves) fights Renato Moicano (blue gloves) during UFC 317 at T-Mobile Arena.
Beneil Dariush (red gloves) fights Renato Moicano (blue gloves) during UFC 317 at T-Mobile Arena. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

UFC Vegas 124 kicks off the UFC’s November slate the following week, and Léo Guimaraes was the first to report that Thomas Petersen is stepping in on short notice to face Gabriel Lorenço on that card following the withdrawal of Alvin Hines.

Thomas Petersen Coming Off Quick Submission Loss in July

A former LFA heavyweight champion, Petersen punched his ticket to the UFC in 2023 when he submitted Chandler Cole in the second round of their Dana White’s Contender Series fight.

Thomas Petersen (red gloves) reacts after defeating Don'Tale Mayes (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Wells Fargo Arena.
Thomas Petersen (red gloves) reacts after defeating Don'Tale Mayes (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Wells Fargo Arena. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The victory over Chandler left Petersen on a three-fight win streak that began following his first career loss to current top-ranked UFC heavyweight Waldo Cortes-Acosta, but the 31-year-old ended up dropping a decision to Jamal Pogues in his UFC debut in early 2024.

Thomas Petersen (red gloves) fights Don’tale Mayes (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Wells Fargo Arena.
Thomas Petersen (red gloves) fights Don’tale Mayes (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Wells Fargo Arena. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

“The Train” rebounded with a victory over Mohammed Usman but has alternated wins and losses over his seven UFC outings, the most recent of which saw him tap to a first-round calf slicer from Valter Walker in July.

Gabriel Lorenço Makes UFC Debut After Impressing Dana White

Petersen will try to move on from that loss and continue his trend of alternating wins and losses when he steps in on very short notice face Lorenço, who will be making his promotional debut on November 7.

After dropping his professional MMA debut to another recently-signed Brazilian in Igor Cavalcanti, Lorenço stopped six out of his next seven opponents to earned an invitation to the 2026 edition of DWCS.

Facing Charlie Cleveland, “The Black Mamba” only needed a little over two minutes to stop the American with strikes and secure a UFC contract from Dana White.

UFC Vegas 124 is set to proceed with a full slate of 14 fights with Petersen stepping in to face Lorenço, and the card will close out with an important welterweight matchup between Gabriel Bonfim and Sean Brady.

UFC Vegas 124 Fight Card

Main Event: Gabriel Bonfim vs. Sean Brady

Co-Main Event: Virna Jandiroba vs. Tatiana Suarez

Davey Grant vs. Elijah Smith

Seok Hyeon Ko vs. Willington Turman

Billy Elekana vs. Lucas Fernando

Andre Petroski vs. Mantas Kondratavičius

Karine Silva vs. Gabriella Fernandes

Jose Souza vs. Jonny Parsons

Jose Delano vs.  Murtazali Magomedov

Austin Bashi vs. Lucas Brennan

Ollie Schmid vs. Keiichiro Nakamura

Priscila Cachoeira vs. Nina Milošević

Mitch Raposo vs. Marcos Degli

Thomas Petersen vs. Gabriel Lorenço

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Drew Beaupre
DREW BEAUPRE

Drew is an MMA writer that regularly watches regional events in addition to major promotions such as the UFC, PFL, Bellator, and ONE Championship. He joined MMA Knockout when it was founded in 2023.

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