With Chris Barnett out, Chase Sherman now faces Karl Williams at UFC 287

UFC 287 gets a late shakeup in the heavyweight division.

A person with knowledge of the promotion’s plans confirmed to MMA Fighting that Chase Sherman will now face Karl Williams at next weekend’s pay-per-view event at the Miami-Dade Arena in Miami. UFC Brazil also revealed the new matchup.

Williams replaces fan favorite Chris Barnett, who withdrew from the bout due to undisclosed reasons. The 33-year-old enters the fight with five straight victories, including a unanimous decision win in his octagon debut at UFC Las Vegas less than a month ago against Lukasz Brzeski.

Sherman will look to get back in the win column as he makes his 15th octagon appearance. “The Vanilla Gorilla” lost a decision to Waldo Cortes-Acosta in his most recent outing this past November, and prior to that, Sherman stopped Jared Vanderaa in the third round four months earlier.

UFC 287 will be headlined by a middleweight championship rematch between Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya.