Brazilian prospect Alex da Silva signs with the UFC, faces Alexander Yakovlev in St. Petersburg

The UFC was forced to find a new opponent for Alexander Yakovlev in Russia, and the company has signed a Brazilian prospect to fight later this month.

Alex da Silva has signed with the UFC to replace Teemu Packalen against “Thunder of the North” at UFC St. Petersburg on April 20, multiple sources told MMA Fighting. Combate first reported the news.

da Silva (20-1) inked a deal with the North American promotion after scoring back-to-back first-round stoppages in Brazil and Serbia. The 23-year-old lightweight from Astra and MTK scored all of his MMA wins by way of stoppage with 13 knockouts and seven submissions.

Yakovlev (24-9-1) has faced tough competition since joining the UFC in 2014, going 2-4 inside the Octagon with defeats to the likes of Kamaru Usman and Demian Maia. The Russian fighter has decided to drop to from welterweight to lightweight for his next bout.

The Fight Night card will take place at the Yubileyny Sports Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia, and feature Alistair Overeem versus Alexey Oleinik in the main event.