Joel Alvarez steps in to fight Chidi Njokuani at UFC 330 in Philadelphia

UFC 330 gets a shift

PHILADELPHIA, PA - MARCH 30: A general view of the Octagon during the UFC Fight Night event at Wells Fargo Center on March 30, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) | Zuffa LLC via Getty Images Chidi Njokuani will compete at UFC 330 after all. On Wednesday, the promotion announced via social media that Joel Alvarez is set to step in on short notice to face Njokuani at UFC 330 in Philadelphia. The event takes place Aug. 15 at Xfinity Mobile Arena and streams exclusively on Paramount+ in the U.S. Alvaro Colmenero first reported the matchup via Twitter. Alvarez steps in for Geoff Neal who was forced to withdraw from the bout. After a 7-2 run at lightweight that — including seven finishes — Alvarez made the move up to the welterweight division, winning his 170-pound debut via decision against Vicente Luque at UFC Rio this past October. “El Fenomeno” would have a rough go in his sophomore welterweight appearance as he was dominated and stopped by former Bellator champ Yaroslav Amosov at UFC 328 in May. Njokuani remains on the card in hopes of snapping a two-fight skid, including a 69-second submission loss to Jake Matthews at UFC Nashville in July 2025, and a unanimous decision loss to Carlos Leal at February’s UFC Houston event. UFC 330 is headlined by Islam Makhachev’s first welterweight title defense as he faces Ian Machado Garry, while Mackenzie Dern puts her strawweight title on the line for the first time against Gillian Robertson in the co-main event.