UFC on ABC 1 loses fight as Nik Lentz shifted to UFC 257

Next Saturday’s UFC on ABC 1 card has lost a fight as Mike Grundy is out and Nik Lentz has been re-booked for UFC 257 instead.

According to Marcel Dorff of MMA DNA, Lentz’s original opponent Grundy had to withdraw from his bout against Lentz that was set for January 16 on Fight Island. That fight was supposed to take place on the undercard of the Max Holloway vs. Calvin Kattar event, but now that Grundy is out of the fight, the UFC matchmakers had to work fast and re-book Lentz for another fight. Fortunately for Lentz, the matchmakers were able to get Movsar Evolev to fight Lentz on short notice.

The Russian Evloev was originally set to take on Nate Landwehr at the UFC Fight Night card on December 5 in Las Vegas, but he had to withdraw from the bout due to a positive COVID-19 test. It was expected that the UFC was going to re-book Evloev vs. Landwehr, but the matchmakers decided to go a different route now that Lentz needed an opponent. So Evloev will take on Lentz at UFC 257 on January 23, while Landwehr will continue to wait for someone else to become available.

Lentz (30-11-2, 1 NC) has been in the UFC for over a decade, accumulating a 14-8-1, 1 NC record in the Octagon over the years. The 36-year-old American has lost his last two fights, dropping back-to-back contests to Charles Oliveira and to Arnold Allen, a fight in which Lentz suffered an eye injury that threatened his career.

Evloev (13-0) is an undefeated featherweight prospect who has been fighting as a professional since 2014. The 26-year-old Evolev joined the UFC in 2019 and has so far racked up a 3-0 record in the promotion, with wins over Enrique Barzola, Seung Woo Choi, and ironically, Grundy, the man who Evloev is replacing in the Lentz fight.

Who do you think wins at UFC 257, Nik Lentz or Movsar Evloev?