"Who’s Shara gonna fight now??" - Fans left confused as Ihor Potieria reportedly steps in to fight Michel Pereira after Makhmud Muradov pulls out

Fans recently voiced their opinions on Ihor Potieria allegedly going in to fight Michel Pereira at UFC 301. The event is set to take place on May 4 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Pereira was originally scheduled to face Makhmud Muradov but the 34-year-old recently shared a post on social media that he is battling an infection and that he and his management have opted to postpone the fight. The Brazilian added on social media after the revelation that he is still in training and is expecting to be given a replacement.

Alex Behunin, an MMA journalist, originally broke the news that Potieria would be replacing Muradov.

Fans were confused and rushed to the comments section to share their reactions. Take a look at some of their reactions below:

''Who’s Shara gonna fight now??''

''Wait wasn’t Ihor just announced to be fighting Shara Bullet? Wtf?''

''Well that sucks, I was looking forward to Potieria vs Shara Bullet. Now they gotta find another 85 who ain't a grappler to fight him now''

''Shara Bullet has to fight Bo Nickal now''

Check out more reactions below:

Screenshot of fan reactions to Marcel Dorff's post on X

Previously, UFC CEO Dana White announced the match-ups for the first-ever UFC card for Saudi Arabia, which is set to take place at the Kingdom Arena on June 22. One of the bouts featured Potieria taking on rising contender Shara Magomedov in a middleweight bout.

Check out Dana White's announcement below:

It's still uncertain if Potieria will face Pereira at UFC 301 or if his bout against 'Bullet' will proceed as planned.

In his last octagon appearance, Potieria (21-5) went toe-to-toe against debutant Robert Bryczek at UFC Vegas 86, winning the bout via unanimous decision. After suffering back-to-back losses in the UFC, he eventually returned to winning ways.

Meanwhile, Pereira (30-11) is currently riding a seven-fight winning streak with victories over Niko Price, Khaos Williams, Zelim Imadaev, Santiago Ponzinibbio, Andre Fialho, and Andre Petroski through that stretch. In his last octagon outing, Pereira defeated Michal Oleksiejczuk at UFC 299 via submission in the opening round.

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When Ihor Potieria retired Mauricio Rua with a KO

Ihor Potieria faced MMA legend Mauricio Rua in a light heavyweight bout at UFC 283.

The match was significant since it was 'Shogun's' final UFC fight and took place in his home country of Brazil. Rua's last fight unfortunately went badly, as he was knocked out by Potieria in the first round.

Many found Potieria's post-fight dance offensive, believing it to be an insulting gesture against Rua.