Simon, who was scheduled to face Brian Kelleher on Jan. 16, will now take on promotional newcomer Gaetano Pirello at UFC Fight Island 8 on Jan. 20, multiple people with knowledge of the change told MMA Fighting.
Kelleher was pulled from the first card of the year after testing positive for COVID-19.
Pirello makes his first walk to the octagon in Abu Dhabi on short notice after scoring a pair of first-round finishes in the European circuit in 2018 and 2019, boosting his MMA record to 15-5-1.
Simon (16-3) returned to the winning column in his sole appearance in 2020, scoring a split decision over Ray Borg in May. The former LFA bantamweight champion went 3-0 in the UFC before losses to Urijah Faber and Rob Font.
Abu Dhabi's UFC Fight Island 8 will be headlined by welterweights Neil Magny and Michael Chiesa.
{feed:enclosure_href }
More...