Jonathan Martinez will stay on this weekend’s UFC Vegas 41 card after all.
Meni Mayer of MMA Ideas was first to report that Martinez will welcome Zviad Lazishvili to the UFC on short notice this weekend, on October 23. Both fighters confirmed the news on social media.
Martinez (13-4) had his two-fight win streak snapped in March when Davey Grant knocked him out at UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs. Muhammad. Before that loss, he dominated Thomas Almeida to win a unanimous decision and then finished Frankie Saenz via TKO. Martinez was scheduled to face Nathaniel Wood on September 4, and Marcelo Rojo after Wood pulled out. However, on weigh-in day, Martinez missed weight, and the fight would be called off due to complications from his weight cut.
Lazishvili (12-0) steps in on three days’ notice replacing Aaron Phillips. He was most recently in action last September when he beat Ricky Steele and won the LFA Vacant Bantamweight Championship. The Georgian will be the latest LFA bantamweight champion to move to the UFC, following Miles Jones, Casey Kenney, and Ricky Simon.
UFC Fight Night: Costa vs. Vettori goes down this Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Paulo Costa and Marvin Vettori will headline the event and will be broadcast on ESPN+.
The October 23 fight card now includes the following reported bouts:
- Paulo Costa vs. Marvin Vettori
- Grant Dawson vs. Rick Glenn
- Jessica-Rose Clark vs. Joselyne Edwards
- Alex Caceres vs. Seung Woo Choi
- Dwight Grant vs. Francisco Trinaldo
- Nick Negumereanu vs. Ike Villanueva
- Gregory Rodrigues vs. Jun Yong Park
- Mason Jones vs. David Onama
- Tabatha Ricci vs. Maria de Oliveira Neta
- Jamie Pickett vs. Laureano Staropoli
- Khama Worthy vs. Jai Herbert
- Jeff Molina vs. Daniel Lacerda
- Jonathan Martinez vs. Zviad Lazishvili
- Randa Markos vs. Lívia Renata Souza
