UFC Vegas 113 lost a fight — but quickly found a replacement. Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Bantamweight Said Nurmagomedov has pulled out of his scheduled bout against Javid Basharat, leaving “Snow Leopard” suddenly without an opponent. However, that didn’t last long, as the promotion tapped UFC newcomer Gianni Vazquez to step in on just two […]
UFC Vegas 113 lost a fight — but quickly found a replacement.
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Bantamweight Said Nurmagomedov has pulled out of his scheduled bout against Javid Basharat, leaving “Snow Leopard” suddenly without an opponent. However, that didn’t last long, as the promotion tapped UFC newcomer Gianni Vazquez to step in on just two days’ notice at UFC Vegas 113 this weekend inside the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.
MMA Latinoamérica was first to report the news.
After opening his UFC run with three straight victories, Basharat (14-2) has hit a rough stretch. It began with a no-contest against Victor Henry after an accidental low blow brought the fight to an abrupt end. Since then, Basharat has suffered back-to-back losses — first to Aiemann Zahabi, then a brutal knockout loss to Ricky Simon in his most recent outing, which was one of the most devastating knockouts of 2026 (watch highlights).
Enter Vazquez (13-4-1), a fighter who has been on the UFC’s radar for some time and finally gets his long-awaited opportunity on the sport’s biggest stage. Typically a Flyweight, Vazquez will compete at Bantamweight due to the short-notice nature of the matchup.
The 31-year-old is riding a five-fight winning streak and currently holds the Up Next Fighting (UNF) Flyweight championship. He boasts a solid 54 percent finish rate, with four knockouts and three submissions to his name.
Notably, Vazquez owns a win over surging UFC Bantamweight contender David Martinez — the only loss of Martinez’s professional career. He was also involved in one of the most egregious officiating errors in recent MMA history, having been choked unconscious while the referee allowed his opponent to continue cranking an armbar for nearly 20 additional seconds (details here).
Here’s the finalized UFC Vegas 113 lineup:
- Mario Bautista vs. Vinicius Oliveira
- Amir Albazi vs. Kyoji Horiguchi
- Jailton Almeida vs. Rizvan Kuniev
- Michal Oleksiejczuk vs. Marc-Andre Barriault
- Dustin Jacoby vs. Julius Walker
- Farid Basharat vs. Jean Matsumoto
- Daniil Donchenko vs. Alex Morono
- Niko Price vs. Nikolay Veretennikov
- Bruna Brasil vs. Ketlen Souza
- Javid Basharat vs. Gianni Vazquez
- Eduarda Moura vs. Cong Wang
- Muin Gafurov vs. Jakub Wilacz
- Priscila Cachoeira vs. Klaudia Sygula
Category: General Sports
