Visa issues force Taisumov off UFC Fight Night 81, Medhi Baghdad in vs. Chris Wade

Mehdi Baghdad

Visa issues have forced Maribek Taisumov from his UFC Fight Night 81 bout with Chris Wade. Stepping in for the lightweight battle on one week’s notice is RFA lightweight champion and TUF 22 veteran Medhi Baghdad.

Wade (10-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) posted the news of the new bout with Baghdad (11-3 MMA, 0-0 UFC) on his Instagram.

UFC Fight Night 81 takes place Jan. 17 at TD Garden in Boston. After early prelims on UFC Fight Pass, the remainder of the card airs on FOX Sports 1.

Wade has been on a tear since joining the UFC roster, picking up three victories in three fights, most recently defeating Christos Giagos at UFC Fight Night 68. The 28-year-old is currently riding a five-fight winning streak.

Baghdad is the RFA lightweight champion and was set to defend his title at RFA 35. Instead, he’ll bring his seven-fight winning streak to the octagon and look to hand Wade his first UFC defeat.

MAIN CARD (FOX Sports 1, 10 p.m. ET)

• Champ T.J. Dillashaw vs. Dominick Cruz – for bantamweight title
• Eddie Alvarez vs. Anthony Pettis
• Travis Browne vs. Matt Mitrione
• Ross Pearson vs. Francisco Trinaldo

PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX Sports 1, 8 p.m. ET)

• Patrick Cote vs. Ben Saunders
• Medhi Baghdad vs. Chris Wade
• Tim Boetsch vs. Ed Herman
• Maximo Blanco vs. Luke Sanders

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

• Daron Cruickshank vs. Paul Felder
• Ilir Latifi vs. Sean O’Connell
• Jimy Hettes vs. Charles Rosa
• Rob Font vs. Joey Gomez
• Francimar Barroso vs. Abdul-Kerim Edilov

For more on UFC Fight Night 81, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.