UFC 327 is all set to go down at the Kaseya Center in Miami on April 11, and the card looks stacked to say the least. Or at least it did, until earlier today. With two title fights on top, supported by an evenly exciting undercard, the promotion’s fifth visit to Miami is already shaping up as a potential card of the year contender. But unfortunately, one fight has been abruptly scrapped due to injury constraints, and now, Paddy Pimblett has been summoned to save it. 

Beneil Dariush vs. Manuel Torres was one of the most anticipated lightweight showdowns on the card, which is now off the table. The reason? ‘Benny’ revealed that the Mexican withdrew from the fight because of an undisclosed recurring injury. However, even as the Assyrian fighter looked visibly disappointed after the bout with Torres fell apart, he used the opportunity to call out Paddy Pimblett to fill the spot on short notice.

“I’ll give you guys the breaking news, I guess,” Dariush said on Mike Perry’s Overdogs Podcast. “I just found out, I guess it was yesterday, he pulled out. He’s injured. So, I guess that fight is not happening anymore. So, I’m actually waiting for a new opponent. That’s something nobody else has heard so far.

“And to be honest with you, I was supposed to fight Manuel in February, and then they said March 7th, and then they said April 11th. I’m assuming he was injured, and he was pushing it back, and essentially it didn’t work out for him right. And then he probably re-injured himself or whatever, I don’t know the exact details. All the best to him. I hope he recovers quickly and gets back, and I’m just waiting on an opponent. And the only guy I saw available is Paddy,” he added.

Well, a Beneil Dariush vs. Paddy Pimblett bout would make the Miami card even stronger than it already is, and the UFC might even add the Scouser on short notice to save the bout. Pimblett looked worse for wear after his UFC 324 outing and received a thirty-day minimum suspension.

Still, there’s a high chance that the Liverpudlian might not take this fight. Yes, ‘The Baddy’ recently said that he’s ready to fight anyone and that the injuries he sustained looked worse than they were. Even so, he also mentioned that he plans to come back in the summertime, which is around May or June.

But Pimblett’s list now demands a No. 5-ranked Benoit Saint Denis or No. 2 Arman Tsarukyan, not No. 12-ranked Beneil Dariush. So there’s a strong chance that the Englishman might not show much interest in taking the fight against ‘Benny’ due to the rankings discrepancy, regardless of his comeback timeline.  

But as the UFC 327 main card bout collapsed because of injury and Dariush gets pushed further into uncertainty, another fighter has received a lifetime chance to move significantly closer to a title shot. 

Josh Hokit gets closer to a title shot as he faces Curtis Blaydes at UFC 327 

After Josh Hokit exploded onto the UFC scene with a stellar victory over Guilherme Uriel at DWCS last year, fans saw the potential that he could make it big in the promotion. The Californian followed it up with two first-round finishes over Max Gimenis and Denzel Freeman back-to-back, which further strengthened his position. But a shot at a top-five heavyweight guy? That wasn’t on anyone’s mind. Yet, it turns out Dana White and Co. believe Hokit is the next superstar in the making.

At UFC 327, the 28-year-old will face No. 5-ranked UFC veteran Curtis Blaydes on the main card. And if you’ve guessed it by now, Hokit has a lifetime opportunity to go from a prospect to a legitimate title challenger in just two fights in the UFC. What’s even more interesting is that he can absolutely pull off a victory against Blaydes.

Following the loss against Tom Aspinall at UFC 304, Blaydes returned against Rizvan Kuniev in his last fight, which was honestly a lackluster performance that he won via split decision. But with the way Hokit pressures his opponents to find that kill shot, he might end up catching ‘Razor’s’ chin in the pocket exchanges to score another vicious knockout and take his position as the new No. 5.

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That said, do you actually think the UFC 327 card could end up being the most stacked card of the year, even topping the White House event? Let us know in the comments section below.