For the second week in a row, UFC fans are waking up to news of some major fight announcements by Dana White. In a video posted to his Instagram account, the UFC president confirmed Justin Gaethje's replacement opponent, along with news of an interesting bout set to take place in the featherweight division.
UFC 313 Gets New Co-Main Event
Following the news that dropped earlier this week that Dan Hooker in injured and therefore out of his scheduled fight against Gaethje at UFC 313 on March 8th, a former opponent of Gaethje's will now step in and fill the void left by "The Hangman" on little over a week's notice.
Rafael Fiziev (12-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) had been the first of many fighters to call for the opportunity to replace Hooker, and now "Ataman" will get his chance to avenge the majority decision loss he suffered at the hands of Gaethje (25-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC) at UFC 286 back in 2023.
"I don't know how much I got to sell Gaethje to you", White said in the video. "13 performance bonuses in 13 fights, 20 of his 25 wins are by knockout. And Fiziev in his last fight(against Mateusz Gamrot in September of 2023) was cut short due to an unfortunate knee injury. But prior to that, Fiziev had six straight performance bonuses, including the first time they fought, which was another badass fight. So the co-main event, Fazeev versus Gaethje. We fixed it. That's a fun one".
Bryce Mitchell Paired With Fighting Nerds Star
White also announced that Jean Silva (15-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC), who picked up his fourth consecutive knockout win inside the Octagon last Saturday night, is set for a quick turnaround and will face Bryce Mitchell (17-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC), who recently made headlines due to some unsavoury comments he made during the maiden episode of his new podcast.
"Another announcement I have for you", White said. "UFC 314, April 12th, in Miami, Florida. It's Silva, who fought last weekend and had an unbelievable performance in Seattle, immediately calls out Bryce Mitchell.
"Bryce Mitchell immediately texts Hunter Campbell and says, 'I want the fight.' So we made it. April 12th in Miami, Silva versus Mitchell. Ask and you shall receive, I guess. That's a fun one. I didn't want anybody to think we're putting a hit out on Bryce Mitchell. Bryce Mitchell literally texted immediately after he said it, said he wants to fight. So we're doing it in Miami".
UFC Kansas City Main Event Confirmed
The UFC has also announced that Jamahal Hill (12-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) will face Khalil Rountree Jr. (13-6 MMA, 9-6 UFC) in a 5-round main event at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City on April 26th.
Hill is still searching for his firts victory since he vacated the light heavyweight title in 2023 due to a catastrophic injury. He returned at UFC 300 where he was knocked out by current champion Alex Pereira in the main event, and was most recently in action at UFC 311 in January where he suffered a 3rd-round KO loss at the hands of Jiri Prochazka.
Following an impressive 5-fight winning run, Rountree Jr. got his shot at glory when he was selected to face Pereira at UFC 307 in October. He was finished by the Brazilian in the 4th round but his exciting performance certainly raised his stock and he now finds himself in another high-profile main event against "Sweet Dreams".
Bantamweight Clash Set For Des Moines
In other news, former bantamweight title challenger Marlon "Chito" Vera (23-10-1 MMA, 15-9 UFC) is booked to face Mario Bautista (15-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC) when the UFC rolls into Des Moines, Iowa on May 3rd.
Vera had a difficult 2024, losing a lopsided decision to then-champion Sean O'Malley in the main event at UFC 299 in March before being outpointed by former flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo in August.
His opponent Bautista has won 7 on the bounce and broke into the bantamweight top 10 following a split decision win over Jose Aldo at UFC 307 in October.
