Yuri Simoes will take his place in the Combat Jiu-Jitsu Fight Night absolute bracket against Josh Barnett, replacing Gordon Ryan and Fabricio Werdum.
The change comes after a serious knee injury that Ryan sustained during last weekend’s Kasai Super Series. The grappler announced that he would be unable to compete at the upcoming CJJ event following the news that he’d completely torn his LCL.
Although fans will undoubtedly be disappointed to know that Ryan and Werdum won’t be a part of the event, Simoes and Barnett will be a more than worthy replacement matchup. Simoes is a two-time ADCC champion and won gold at No-Gi Worlds in the absolute division. Barnett is a former UFC heavyweight champion and was the first Metamoris heavyweight champion as well.
The other side of the bracket will have Rustam Chsiev — an ADCC and EBI veteran — going up against a to-be-determined competitor. The official EBI Instagram page is currently encouraging followers to tag their ideal opponent for Chsiev. The promotion also said that Ryan vs. Werdum will be postponed to later this year once Ryan is healed up.
