Tajikistan has another fighter on the UFC roster.
Shortly after the addition of Muin Gafurov, the UFC has signed Tajikistan-born Muhammad Naimov, who will replace Guram Kutateladze to face Jamie Mullarkey on Saturday at UFC on ESPN 45. Kutateladze was unable to obtain his U.S. visa in time, forcing him to withdraw from the bout.
A person with knowledge of the situation confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie after an initial report by MMA Mania.
Naimov (8-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) is 3-1 since he fell short on Dana White’s Contender Series in September 2020. The 28-year-old is on a three-fight winning streak and most recently scored a 34-second head kick knockout in March.
Since he dropped his first two octagon bouts, Mullarkey (16-5 MMA, 4-3 UFC) has won four of his past five. The Australian fighter is coming off back-to-back wins over Michael Johnson and, most recently, Francisco Prado at UFC 284 in February.
UFC on ESPN 45 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card airs on ESPN and streams on ESPN+.
With the change, the UFC on ESPN 45 lineup now includes:
MAIN CARD (ESPN/ESPN+, 9 p.m. ET)
- Kai Kara-France vs. Amir Albazi
- Alex Caceres vs. Daniel Pineda
- Jared Gordon vs. Jim Miller
- Victor Altamirano vs. Tim Elliott
- Karine Silva vs. Ketlen Souza
- Jamie Mullarkey vs. Muhammad Naimov
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN/ESPN+, 6 p.m. ET)
- Abubakar Nurmagomedov vs. Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos
- John Castaneda vs. Muin Gafurov
- Andrei Arlovski vs. Don’Tale Mayes
- Johnny Munoz vs. Daniel Santos
- Jinh Yu Frey vs. Elise Reed
- Da’Mon Blackshear vs. Luan Lacerda
- Maxim Grishin vs. Philipe Lins
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 45.
