Paulo Costa pulls out of his fight against Ikram Aliskerov at UFC 291

The middleweight matchup between Paulo Costa and Ikram Aliskerov at UFC 291 appears to have been  called off. 

Costa has dropped out of the competition, so Aliskerov will face a different opponent, claims @judobetter995. Roman Dolidze has stepped up, which will be a difficult assignment given that he will now be competing in Salt Lake City, Utah, at altitude and on 12-days' notice.

Dolidze, who recently lost a unanimous decision to former championship challenger Marvin Vettori, will be seeking to rebound in the middleweight class. His four-fight winning streak which had included three straight KO/TKO victories and Performance of the Night bonuses.

The original fight was a highly anticipated one because it would be the Dagestani's first opportunity to face a top middleweight after a successful promotional debut. Unknown as to why 'Borrachinha' was kicked out of the event, he seemed to be happy with the new contract he had signed with the UFC.

In his most recent contest, Paulo Costa defeated former middleweight champion Luke Rockhold by majority decision at UFC 278 in August of last year.