UFC Signs Unbeaten Finishing Machine for Short-Notice Fight on Saturday's UFC Card

A very late change to this Saturday’s UFC card has produced a new matchup that will see two undefeated fighters make their respective UFC debuts.

Following last Saturday’s UFC 328 card that saw Sean Strickland upset Khamzat Chimaev to reclaim the middleweight title in the night’s final bout, the UFC returns home to Las Vegas this weekend for a UFC Fight Night event headlined by featherweight contenders Arnold Allen and Melquizael Costa.

The event was at full capacity with 14 scheduled bouts as of the start of fight week, but Marcel Dorff and Nolan King were the first to report that both Trey Ogden and Nicolas Dalby have been forced out of their matchups with Tommy Gannt and Jeremiah Wells due to injury.

Artur Minev Gets Call for Short-Notice UFC Debut

There’s still be no word on if the UFC will be able to find a new opponent for Wells on short notice, but Dorff did announce that the promotion has signed undefeated lightweight prospect Artur Minev to step in and debut against Gantt this weekend.

Boasting a perfect 7-0 record following a 3-0 amateur career, Minev has found finishes in all but one of his professional MMA bouts.

Five of those stoppages have come inside the first round, and he most recently defeated longtime Bellator veteran Derek Campos at Fury FC 113 in January in what was his fourth appearance for Texas-based Fury FC.

Tommy Gannt Earned UFC Contract on Dana White's Contender Series

Minev’s short-notice debut will see him square off with another undefeated UFC newcomer in Gantt, who punched his ticket to the UFC with a first-round submission of the formerly-unbeaten Adam Livingston on Dana White’s Contender Series last September.

The 33-year-old also went undefeated as an amateur fighter and has kept an extremely busy schedule since winning his pro debut in just 21 seconds in 2024. In a little over two years, Gantt has managed to compile an 11-0 (1 NC) record and win welterweight belts with New Line Cagefighting and North Iowa Fights while securing 10 of those wins via finish.

With Minev stepping in to face Gantt, UFC Vegas 117 is now back up to 13 scheduled fights and will proceed as such unless the promotion manages to also find a short-notice replacement to face Wells.

UFC Vegas 117 Fight Card

Main Event: Arnold Allen vs. Melquizael Costa

Co-Main Event: Doo Ho Choi vs. Daniel Santos

Malcolm Wellmaker vs Juan Diaz

Modestats Bukauskas vs. Rodolfo Bellato

Timmy Cuamba vs. Bernardo Sopaj

Nikolay Veretennikov vs. Khaos Williams

Tuco Tokkos vs. Ivan Erslan

Tommy Gannt vs. Artur Minev

Ketlen Vieira vs. Jacqueline Cavalcanti

Andre Petroski vs. Cody Brundage

Alice Ardelean vs. Polyana Viana

Daniel Barez vs. Luis Gurule

Shauna Bannon vs. Nicolle Caliari

Add us as a preferred source on Google