Gleison Tibau vs. Joao Zeferino booked in late shuffle at 2021 PFL 2

A welterweight clash between a pair of Brazilians is a late addition to the PFL’s second event of 2021.

MMA Junkie on Sunday learned from PFL officials that both Magomed Magomedkerimov and Aleksei Kunchenko have been ruled out of Thursday’s 2021 PFL 2 event, and their originally scheduled opponents, Gleison Tibau and Joao Zeferino, will now meet, instead.

The reason for Magomedkerimov and Kunchenko’s withdrawals was not immediately disclosed, but PFL officials said they hope to reschedule their season debuts soon.

Tibau (34-14) is best known for a 28-fight stint under the UFC banner that spanned from 2006 to 2018. The 37-year-old Brazilian competed most recently in July 2019, earning a first-round submission win over former Bellator lightweight champion Will Brooks in Macau.

Meanwhile, Zeferino (24-9) also competes for the first time since July 2019, when he picked up a decision win over Bojan Velickovic. The 35-year-old veteran, who also previously competed under the UFC and WSOF banners, is currently riding a three-fight winning streak, all built in the PFL cage.

2021 PFL 2 takes place at Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City, N.J. The main card airs on ESPN2 following prelims on ESPN+.

The updated 2021 PFL 2 now includes:

MAIN CARD (ESPN2, 9 p.m. ET)

• Rory MacDonald vs. Curtis Millender
• Ray Cooper III vs. Jason Ponet
• Antonio Carlos Junior vs. Tom Lawlor
• Chris Camozzi vs. Emiliano Sordi

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 5:30 p.m. ET)

• Gleison Tibau vs. Joao Zeferino
• Vinny Magalhaes vs. Jordan Young
• Cezar Ferreira vs. Nick Roehrick
• Nikolay Aleksakhin vs. Sadibou Sy
• Marthin Hamlet vs. Dan Spohn