With Parker Porter out, Andrei Arlovski steps in to face Chase Sherman at UFC on ESPN 22

After losing his initial opponent, Chase Sherman has drawn an even bigger opportunity.

Parker Porter has been forced out of UFC on ESPN 22 for undisclosed reasons, and Andrei Arlovski will step in on short notice to face Sherman on April 17.

Both fighters confirmed the booking on social media Wednesday following an initial report from Fight Bananas.

Former heavyweight champion Arlovski (30-20 MMA, 19-14 UFC) is still trucking at the age of 42 but will be looking to respond from a recent setback. After scoring back-to-back unanimous decision wins over Philipe Lins and Tanner Boser, Arlovski was submitted by Tom Aspinall at UFC Fight Night 185 in February.

Since rejoining the UFC roster in May, Sherman (15-6 MMA, 3-5 UFC) picked up a second-round TKO over Ike Villanueva at UFC Fight Night 171, for his fourth straight stoppage win.

With the change, the UFC on ESPN 22 lineup now includes:

• Robert Whittaker vs. Kelvin Gastelum
• Bartosz Fabinski vs. Gerald Meerschaert
• Andrei Arlovski vs. Chase Sherman
• Tracy Cortez vs. Justine Kish
• Anthony Birchak vs. Tony Gravely
• Austin Hubbard vs. Natan Levy
• Drakkar Klose vs. Jeremy Stephens
• Bill Algeo vs. Ricardo Ramos
• Lupita Godinez vs. Jessica Penne
• Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Jacob Malkoun
• Zarah Fairn vs. Josiane Nunes
• Juan Espino vs. Alexandr Romanov