Tag: Malcom Gordon

Malcolm Gordon out of UFC Fight Night 198 bout against Denys Bondar

UFC Fight Night 198 has taken another hit.

[autotag]Malcom Gordon[/autotag] won’t be fighting at UFC Fight Night 198.

The Canadian flyweight is out of his previously scheduled bout against [autotag]Denys Bondar[/autotag] for undisclosed reasons. The UFC is currently seeking a replacement to fight Bondar (16-3 MMA, 1-0 UFC).

Two people with knowledge of the withdrawal informed MMA Junkie on Wednesday but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an announcement.

All three of Bondar’s scheduled matchups in his UFC tenure have been canceled. He withdrew from the first two. The Ukrainian flyweight rides a 10-fight winning streak into the promotion.

For Gordon, the withdrawal marks his first with the UFC. A former TKO champion, Gordon picked up his first promotional win in July when he defeated Francisco Figueiredo via unanimous decision.

UFC Fight Night 198 takes place Saturday, Nov. 20 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and streams on ESPN+.

With the change, the UFC Fight Night 198 lineup includes:

  • Miesha Tate vs. Ketlen Vieira
  • Sean Brady vs. Michael Chiesa
  • Davey Grant vs. Adrian Yanez
  • Joanne Calderwood vs. Taila Santos
  • Qileng Aori vs. Cody Durden
  • Cheyanne Buys vs. Loma Lookboonme
  • Terrance McKinney vs. Fares Ziam
  • Rafa Garcia vs. Natan Levy
  • Denys Bondar vs. TBA
  • Sam Hughes vs. Luana Pinheiro
  • Shaylin Nuerdanbieke vs. Sean Soriano
  • Tucker Lutz vs. Pat Sabatini

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqvpne7c1q486dvv player_id=01eqvpqbw4ymnv0rjh image=https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Despite short-notice call, Amir Albazi is ‘more than ready and prepared’ for his UFC debut

When Amir Albazi got the call from the UFC on 10 days’ notice, he jumped all over the opportunity.

When [autotag]Amir Albazi[/autotag] got the call from the UFC, he jumped all over the opportunity.

Albazi (12-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will replace Aleksander Doskalchuk and face [autotag]Malcom Gordon[/autotag] this Saturday at UFC on ESPN+ 30 at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.

It all came together pretty quickly for the London Shootfighters’ prospect, who woke up to a ton of calls from his team waiting to deliver the good news. The fight was just 10 days away, but Albazi didn’t have to think twice.

“Actually, it’s a funny story,” Albazi told MMA Junkie. “I woke up, it was exactly last Wednesday morning in London, I see a lot of missed calls from both my coaches and manager. So after that, I just called up my manager, he told me there’s a last-minute fight in the UFC, do you want to take it? Straight away, I said yes, sure. Went to the gym, did my last training session, then straight to Heathrow Airport. Literally I didn’t have time to pack all my things, so I went back home, put everything in a bag and just left straight away.”

Albazi takes on fellow debutant, TKO’s two-division champion Gordon (12-3 MMA, 0-0 UFC), whom he admits was not a familiar name until he realized that he was actually signed to the same promotion as him, Middle-Eastern based organization BRAVE CF.

“It makes for a good fight here in the UFC,” Albazi said. “If I fight him in the UFC or BRAVE, it doesn’t really matter.”

Albazi has fought all across Europe, notching two wins with Bellator, as well. His only career blemish came at the hands of ex-UFC flyweight Jose Torres in April 2019, but he was able to rebound with a first-round submission over Ryan Curtis last November.

While Albazi had no clue he’d be fighting on July 18 until a few days ago, he wasn’t completely out of shape. He was scheduled to make his third appearance for BRAVE CF in April before the event was canceled due to COVID-19.

The circumstances may not be convenient, but proven finisher Albazi is confident he’ll put an impressive showing on Saturday.

“I’m pretty relaxed with that,” Albazi said. “I’m just here, enjoying it, taking it all in, and at the end of the day it’s gonna be a scrap on Saturday night, so it is what it is. I’m more than ready and prepared for this fight.

“I think I was already ready a couple of years ago, but with them taking away the division and with all the drama with the flyweights, it was a lot harder going in. They weren’t really signing new fighters, so by now with this opportunity, I’m just happy to be a part of ‘Fight Island’ and happy to put on a performance on Saturday night.”

[vertical-gallery id=532257]