Gianni Vazquez is back in the UFC under some truly bizarre circumstances.
MMA Fighting confirmed with sources with knowledge of the new matchup that Vazquez (14-6) has been called on to step in for Jessie Rosas to fight Miles Johns (15-5, 1 NC) at UFC Vegas 120 on Saturday. The news was first reported by HEAVY, and the change has been made on the official event page.
According to Rosas’ brother, fellow UFC fighter Raul Rosas Jr., the bout was changed due to a “glove scratch in his forehead” that was suspected to be an infection.
See Raul’s full statement from Instagram Stories below.
UFC doctor pulled my brother out of his fight. Due to a glove scratch in his forehead as he believes it’s an infection. We did what we could, got approval from two doctors everything was OK, but the UFC doctor made the call. There’s nothing we can do, my brother was ready. Things happen for a reason, God’s plan. His time will come.
Johns and Vazquez will both compete at a different weight class than usual with veteran bantamweight Johns already scheduled to compete at featherweight against Rosas, and Vazquez actually having a flyweight bout set for an LFA show on Aug. 21 before receiving the call for his second UFC fight.
Vazquez made his UFC debut this past February, again stepping in on short-notice to fight Javid Basharat as a replacement for Said Nurmagomedov. Fight week was a disaster for Vazquez as he weighed in five pounds over the bantamweight limit, costing him 25 percent of his purse, and then lost a decision to Basharat. Despite a competitive effort, Vazquez was subsequently released,
The 32-year-old bounced back with a second-round knockout of Komronbek Ortikov at a Combate Global show in MMA and now makes an unlikely UFC comeback, having been released and re-signed in the span of six months.
Johns is badly in need of a win having lost three straight fights, most recently being submitted by Daniel Marcos this past November.
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