The
Ultimate Fighting Championship is down one Nurmagomedov come
Saturday.
With the report first coming from MMA Latinoamerica on Thursday, Said
Nurmagomedov has been forced to withdraw from UFC Vegas 113, also known as UFC Fight Night
266. The Russian bantamweight was booked against Javid
Basharat (14-2, 1 NC), the elder of the Basharat brothers, on
the prelims set for the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. His replacement,
Gianni
Vazquez (13-5), has confirmed the
initial news as well as his status as a new addition to the
roster.
Nurmagomedov, who withdrew for currently undisclosed reasons, has
had a great deal of difficulty getting to the UFC cage since he
joined the roster in 2018. Thus far, he has only made 11 walks to
the Octagon, with 2022 his high-water mark as he appeared thrice
that year. Since 2023, he has fought twice, losing both outings to
headliner Vinicius
Oliveira and Bryce
Mitchell. Whether due to injury or an issue for his opponent,
Nurmagomedov has seen seven bouts fall through to date as a member
of the UFC.
Gianni’s Up Next
The debuting Vazquez has floated around the Latin American scene
over the years, making his pro debut in his home country of Mexico
in May 2014. The 31-year-old engaged in a one-off under the
Combate Global banner in 2021, and he went on
to join the Fury Fighting Championship and challenge for
the promotion’s belt. Since coming up short to ex-UFC name Edgar
Chairez, Vazquez rattled off five victories with Up Next
Fighting in California, winning and defending its title before
getting the call up.
Britain’s Basharat, by way of Afghanistan, has his back against the
wall on Saturday. Having dropped two straight along with a no
contest to Victor
Henry in 2023, “The Snow Leopard” is winless in over three
years now. Before his setbacks, Basharat came into the promotion
undefeated, where he rattled off a trio of decision wins over
Trevin
Jones, Tony
Gravely and Mateus
Mendonca to establish himself in the crowded division.
UFC Fight Night 266, which also goes by UFC Vegas 113, goes down on
Feb. 7 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Bantamweights take center
stage in the headliner as Mario
Bautista battles the aforementioned Oliveira. In the co-main
attraction, flyweights vie for a shot at gold as Amir Albazi
battles Kyoji
Horiguchi. Additionally, heavyweights Jailton
Almeida and Rizvan
Kuniev are slated to battle it out, and the main card will be
rounded out by a middleweight pairing pitting Michal
Oleksiejczuk against Marc-Andre
Barriault, one at 135 pounds between Jean
Matsumoto and Farid
Basharat and open with a light heavyweight banger when Dustin
Jacoby faces Julius
Walker.
