Two of Europe’s brightest prospects will make their octagon debuts on Oct. 17.
Magomed Mustafaev has been forced out of next week’s UFC on ESPN+ 38 event, and Guram Kutateladze (11-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC)) will step in on short notice to face Mateusz Gamrot (17-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. MMA Junkie confirmed the replacement after an initial report from Russian reporter Igor Lazorin.
Kutateladze joins a wave of Georgian fighters such as Ilia Topuria, Giga Chikadze, Roman Dolidze and Merab Dvalishvili who have signed with the UFC in the past couple of years. The Allstars Training Center lightweight has won his past eight in a row and is coming off a 44-second knockout of UFC veteran Felipe Silva last November at BRAVE CF 29.
Gamrot, a KSW lightweight champion, is unbeaten in his pro MMA career with five knockouts and four submissions among his 17 career victories. In his past outing in August, Gamrot defended his lightweight belt in a unanimous decision win against Marian Ziolkowski in the main event of KSW 54.
With the addition, the latest Oct. 17 lineup includes:
- Brian Ortega vs. Chan Sung Jung
- Ante Delija vs. Ciryl Gane
- Modestas Bukauskas vs. Jimmy Crute
- Said Nurmagomedov vs. Mark Striegl
- Krzysztof Jotko vs. Makhmud Muradov
- Jessica Andrade vs. Katlyn Chookagian
- David Zawada vs. opponent TBA
- Jun Yong Park vs. John Phillips
- Jamie Mullarkey vs. Fares Ziam
- Gadzhimurad Antigulov vs. Maxim Grishin
- Poliana Botelho vs. Gillian Robertson
- Mateusz Gamrot vs. Guram Kutateladze
- James Krause vs. Claudio Silva