Bahadurzada Joins Lengthy List of UFC 149 Withdrawals; Riddle Now Faces Clements on July 21

The promotion announced Saturday evening that Bahadurzada has withdrawn from his July 21 bout against Chris Clements due to an injury; “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 7 cast member Matt Riddle (Pictured) will replace him in the welterweight tilt. The matchup was originally expected to pit Thiago Alves against Yoshihiro Akiyama, but both men were eventually forced to pull out of the fight, with Clements and Bahadurzada taking their places.

UFC 149 takes place at Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, and is headlined by an interim welterweight title clash between Urijah Faber and Renan “Barao” Pegado. It is the Las Vegas-based organization’s first visit to the Canadian city.

Riddle last appeared at UFC 143, where he defeated Octagon newcomer Henry Martinez via split decision. That stopped a two-fight losing streak for the Throwdown representative, who had dropped decisions to Lance Benoist and Sean Pierson in his previous two outings. All nine of the 26-year-old Pennsylvania native’s professional fights have come under the UFC banner, with Riddle emerging victorious in six of those contests.

Bahadurzada had an explosive Octagon debut, knocking out Paulo Thiago in 42 seconds at UFC on Fuel TV 2. The newest member of Florida’s Blackzilians team has won his last seven fights -- six by way of knockout or technical knockout.