Phil Baroni out of BKFC 12 main event, Julian Lane steps in to fight Thiago Alves

Thiago Alves has a new opponent for his bare-knuckle boxing debut.

The Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship announced Thursday that MMA veteran Phil Baroni is out of the scheduled main event of BKFC 12 on Sept. 11 and stepping in for him to fight Alves is The Ultimate Fighter 16 alumnus Julian Lane.

No reason was given for Baroni’s withdrawal. MMA Fighting has reached out to BKFC officials for further information.

This event marks Alves’ first bare-knuckle boxing fight after spending the last 15 years of his career with the UFC. Alves, 36, compiled a 15-12 record inside the octagon and once challenged for the UFC welterweight title. He is currently 23-15 in pro MMA.

Lane makes his fourth appearance for the BKFC. He is 1-2 in the promotion so far, with a unanimous win over Tom Shoaff sandwiched between knockout losses to UFC veterans Jim Alers and Leonard Garcia.