February 19’s UFC Vegas 48 card has seen a late switch-up, as Julian Marquez has been forced out of the event.
In his place against middleweight Kyle Daukas (10-2) will be Jamie Pickett (13-6). MMA Junkie was first to report the news, which Pickett subsequently confirmed on social media.
No reason has surfaced for Marquez’s withdrawal. However, Daukaus has at least managed to stay on the card, after having some bad luck with fight cancellations last year. The 28-year old Philadelphia native was supposed to face Kevin Holland last November, a rematch of their October meeting which ended in a No Contest due to an accidental clash of heads.
When Holland was forced out of the rematch, he was replaced with Roman Dolidze — only for the whole fight to fall apart when Dolidze was removed due to COVID-19 protocols.
As a result, Daukaus hasn’t fought since the October No Contest. That will change on February 19 when Jamie Pickett steps into the octagon with him. Pickett started off 2022 strong by defeating Joseph Holmes (Ugly Man Joe) in January at UFC on ESPN 32. The fight went to the judges in the end, all of whom favored Pickett.
That victory gave Pickett a modest two-fight win streak. Overall, he’s 2-2 in the UFC to date.
The UFC Vegas 48 card on February 19 will take place at the Apex in Las Vegas, and is headlined by lightweights Rafael dos Anjos and Rafael Fiziev. The following bouts have been reported for the event:
- Rafael dos Anjos vs. Rafael Fiziev
- Johnny Walker vs. Jamahal Hill
- Julian Marquez vs. Kyle Daukaus
- Jim Miller vs. Nikolas Motta
- Joaquin Buckley vs. Abdul Razak Alhassan
- Parker Porter vs. Alan Baudot
- Jonathan Pearce vs. Austin Lingo
- Mario Bautista vs. Khalid Taha
- Jessica-Rose Clark vs. Stephanie Egger
- Chas Skelly vs. Mark Striegl
- Diana Belbiţă vs. Gloria de Paula
- Chad Anheliger vs. Jesse Strader
- Gabriel Benítez vs. David Onama
- Kyle Daukaus vs. Jamie Pickett
