Chris Barnett gets new opponent for UFC Fight Night 244

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Chris Barnett has a new opponent for his long-awaited return to the UFC cage.

Junior Tafa has stepped into UFC Fight Night 244 in place of Waldo Cortes-Acosta, the promotion recently announced. The three-round heavyweight bout will take place Oct. 12 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Cortes-Acosta's manager Javier Torres, of Skillset Management, told MMA Junkie on Sunday an injury was cause for his client's withdrawal. Cortes-Acosta is expected to return in six to eight weeks.

Tafa (5-3 MMA, 1-3 UFC) most recently competed at UFC 305 in August when he lost to Valter Walker by verbal submission. Tempers flared after the stoppage. Tafa slapped Walker and the two were separated in the cage by security after the fight. The loss was his second straight.

Barnett (23-8 MMA, 2-2 UFC) hasn't competed since September 2022. He was booked for two other dates since, but withdrew from each. Barnett's most recent outing was a TKO against Jake Collier at UFC 279.

With the change, the UFC Fight Night 244 lineup includes:

Brandon Royval vs. Tatsuro Taira

Jun Yong Park vs. Brad Tavares

Grant Dawson vs. Rafa Garcia

Cory McKenna vs. Julia Polastri

Alex Morono vs. Daniel Rodriguez

Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Josh Fremd

Jared Gooden vs. Chidi Njokuani

Ramazonbek Temirov vs. CJ Vergara

Jonathan Pearce vs. Pat Sabatini

Themba Gorimbo vs. Niko Price

Chris Barnett vs. Junior Tafa

Dan Argueta vs. Cody Haddon

Clayton Carpenter vs. Lucas Rocha

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie's event hub for UFC Fight Night 244.

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Chris Barnett gets new opponent for UFC Fight Night 244