Jeremy Kennedy replaces Arnold Allen in next week's UFC 204 main-card opener

Mirsad Bektic will remain on next week’s UFC 204 lineup, after all.

Earlier this week, MMAjunkie first reported Arnold Allen (11-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) had been forced out of his bout with featherweight Bektic (10-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC), and undefeated Jeremy Kennedy (9-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) has stepped in as a replacement, officials today announced.

UFC 204 takes place Oct. 8 at Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass.

Bektic, who’s No. 14 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA featherweight rankings, and Kennedy are slated to open the main card.

Bektic is 3-0 since joining the UFC with decision victories over Chas Skelly and Paul Redmond, as well as a recent TKO win over Lucas Martins. The 25-year-old Bosnian fighter, who’s previously competed for Victory FC, RFA and Titan FC, returns from a 16-month injury layoff when he fights at UFC 204.

Kennedy, a 24-year-old Canadian fighter, fought throughout his home country before signing with the UFC earlier this year. In his promotional debut, he picked up a unanimous-decision victory over lightweight Alessandro Ricci, which marked his third straight decision win. He now heads to featherweight, as he previously planned (check out the video above).

The latest UFC 204 lineup now includes:

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)

• Champ Michael Bisping vs. Dan Henderson – for middleweight title
• Vitor Belfort vs. Gegard Mousasi
• Jimi Manuwa vs. Ovince Saint Preux
• Daniel Omielanczuk vs. Stefan Struve
• Mirsad Bektic vs. Jeremy Kennedy

PRELIMINARY CARD (FS1, 8 p.m. ET)

• Iuri Alcantara vs. Brad Pickett
• Ian Entwistle vs. Rob Font
• Davey Grant vs. Damian Stasiak
• Leon Edwards vs. Albert Tumenov

PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC Fight Pass, 6:30 p.m. ET)

• Mike Perry vs. Danny Roberts
• Adriano Martins vs. Leonardo Santos
• Marc Diakiese vs. TBA

For more on UFC 204, check out the UFC Rumors section of the card.