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Means steps up to face Muhammad, Bandenay vs. Volkanovski at UFC Sydney

Sean Pokorny / USA TODAY Sports

A couple of fighters have stepped up to keep Belal Muhammad and Alexander Volkanovski on the UFC Fight Night 121 bill.

Tim Means will replace Jesse Taylor - who was recently flagged for a potential violation of the USADA's anti-doping policy - in a welterweight bout opposite Muhammad, while Humberto Bandenay will fill in for an injured Jeremy Kennedy and meet Volkanovski in a featherweight tilt Nov. 18 at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney.

The promotion announced the newly booked matchups Wednesday.

Means has won seven of 10 since returning to the UFC in May 2014, and last rebounded from a March submission loss to Alex Oliveira with a unanimous decision over Alex Garcia at UFC Fight Night 112.

Muhammad has won two straight and three of five in the Octagon, including a unanimous verdict over Jordan Mein at UFC 213 in his most recent bout.

Volkanovski returns to his home country with two straight promotional wins and 12 consecutive overall, while Bandenay extended his win streak to six with a 26-second KO of Martin Bravo in his UFC debut in August.

UFC Fight Night 121 will now be headlined by a heavyweight bout between former champ Fabricio Werdum and Marcin Tybura. Werdum steps in for Mark Hunt, who was pulled this week for medical concerns.

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