BREAKING: Jack Hermansson set to fight surging middleweight contender after Derek Brunson pulls out of scheduled clash

Derek Brunson has been forced to pull out of his fight against Jack Hermansson at UFC Orlando due to an undisclosed injury. Roman Dolidze has agreed to step in as a replacement, as reported by ESPN.com.

Following a turbulent run that included three wins and three losses, Jack Hermansson was eager to return to consistent form with a win against a top-ranked opponent in Derek Brunson.

This is the second time in the last four months that 'The Joker' has had to fight a different opponent from his originally scheduled bout. At UFC Fight Night back in July 2022, Hermansson was booked to fight Darren Till. However, the Englishman was forced to pull out due to an injury, and the Norwegian ended up fighting Chris Curtis instead. He won the fight by unanimous decision.

'The Joker' is now set to face Roman Dolidze, an unranked surging contender at UFC Orlando. The ADCC Asia & Oceania champion and Grappling FILA world champion holds five victories in his six fights in the world's premier MMA organization.

Ever since he made his debut in the UFC on July 18, 2020, Dolidze has earned the Performance of the Night bonus twice for his standout performances.

The Georgian is expected to make a quick turnaround following his knockout victory over Phil Hawes last month.

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Who does Jack Hermansson consider the MMA GOAT?

Jack Hermansson is a former middleweight champion of Cage Warriors and the Warrior Fight Series. He made his UFC debut on September 3, 2016, against Scott Askham at UFC Fight Night. 'The Joker' won the fight by unanimous decision.

A highly-skilled grappler in the Greco-Roman wrestling discipline and a high-volume fighter, Jack Hermansson holds the record for the most significant strikes landed in a five-round middleweight bout (148) vs. Ronaldo Souza.

Ahead of his fight against Sean Strickland in February earlier this year, Hermansson made his pick for who he considers the greatest mixed martial artist in an interview with Helen Yee:

"Georges St-Pierre is my guy. I think he really did it over such a long time period, many title defenses, he wasn't busted for PEDs, and he had great competition as well. He even moved up and picked the middleweight belt [against Michael Bisping at UFC 217]."

Watch the full interview below: