Middleweight Makhmud Muradov, backed by The Money Team, will make his sophomore trip to the octagon at UFC Washington against Trevor Smith.
Makhmud Muradov, the first fighter managed by Floyd Mayweather’s The Money Team, is stepping in on short notice against Trevor Smith at UFC Washington. The UFC’s official Russian Instagram account announced the news Friday. Smith had been slated to face Alonzo Menifield on the December card.
No mention was made of a reason for Menifield’s withdrawal.
Muradov recently won his UFC debut, earning a unanimous decision victory over Alessio Di Chirico at UFC Copenhagen. That victory improved the Uzbekistani’s record to 23-6. More impressively, the victory was his twelfth straight win.
Prior to joining the promotion, Muradov had picked up a win over former UFC fighter Wendell de Oliveira Marques.
Trevor Smith (15-9) will enter the UFC on ESPN 7 card badly in need of a win. He’s 1-3 across his last four fights, and on a two-fight skid heading into the event. His past six fights have gone to a decision; most recently, he came up short against Zak Cummings at UFC on FOX 31.
After spending the better part of a year on the sidelines, Smith will have a tough test when he returns against Muradov.
UFC Washington / UFC on ESPN 7 is headlined by a heavyweight showdown between Alistair Overeem and Jarzinho Rozenstruik. Rozenstruik is stepping into the bout on short notice, replacing Walt Harris.
