UFC Newcomer Answers Call to Save UFC Vegas 113 Fight on Extremely Short Notice

The first UFC Fight Night card of the year has undergone a late change just a few days before the event goes down in Las Vegas.

Following back-to-back numbered events to end the promotion’s six-week hiatus and formally usher in the start of a lucrative new seven-year deal with Paramount, the UFC returns home to the newly-named Meta APEX this Saturday for the first UFC Fight Night of 2026.

The card is headlined by top-ranked bantamweight contenders Mario Bautista and Vinicius Oliveira, but there’s reportedly been a late switch to one of the other bantamweight tilts scheduled to take place as part of the prelim portion of the event.

Gianni Vazquez Replaces Said Nurmagomedov At UFC Vegas 113

First reported by MMA Latinoamérica, Said Nurmagomedov has withdrawn from his UFC Vegas 113 matchup with Javid Basharat and will be replaced by UFC newcomer Gianni Vazquez.

Said Nurmagomedov (blue gloves) celebrates his win by submission against Cody Stamann (red gloves) during UFC 270. — Said Nurmagomedov (blue gloves) celebrates his win by submission against Cody Stamann (red gloves) during UFC 270 at Honda Center. | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Currently riding the momentum of five-straight wins, Vazquez is already a veteran of 18 professional MMA fights and handed current #10-ranked UFC bantamweight contender David Martinez his first and only loss when the pair met at a Combat Global event in 2021.

The split decision victory over Martinez kicked off a three-fight win streak for Vazquez, but that run came to an end in 2023 when he was submitted by current UFC flyweight contender Edgar Chairez in the main event of Fury FC 76.

“Kriptonita” made the move to California’s Up Next Fighting following the loss to Chairez, and his current five-fight win streak under the UNF banner includes three finishes, all of which came in the second round.

Javid Basharat Looks To Rebound Against Short-Notice Opponent

Vazquez will face a stiff test for his promotional debut at UFC Vegas 113, as Basharat is looking to get back into the win column for the first time since early 2023 following a tough stretch of results.

A contract winner on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2021, Basharat extended his professional record to 14-0 after taking earning unanimous decisions in his first three UFC outings. That run of success was interrupted by a No Contest result against Victor Henry at UFC 294, and after dropping a decision to Aiemann Zahabi the 30-year-old was knocked out by Ricky Simon in his only outing of 2025.

Ricky Simon (red gloves) fights Javid Basharat (blue gloves) in the bantamweight bout during UFC Fight Night at Climate Pledge Arena. | Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

Provided that there are no cancellations on weigh-in day, the late-notice addition of Vazquez to face Basharat means that UFC Vegas 113 is set to go ahead on Saturday with a total of 13 fights.

UFC Vegas 113 Fight Card

• Main Event: Mario Bautista vs. Vinicius Oliveira

• Co-Main Event: Amir Albazi vs. Kyoji Horiguchi

• Jailton Almeida vs. Rizvan Kuniev

• Michal Oleksiejczuk vs. Marc-Andre Barriault

• Jean Matsumoto vs. Farid Basharat

• Dustin Jacoby vs. Julius Walker

• Alex Morono vs. Daniil Donchenko

• Nikolay Veretennikov vs. Niko Price

• Bruna Brasil vs. Ketlen Souza

• Javid Basharat vs. Gianni Vazquez

• Cong Wang vs. Eduard Moura

• Muin Gafurov vs. Jakub Wiklacz

• Priscila Cachoeira vs. Klaudia Sygula

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