It looks like Derrick Krantz will bypass Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series in favor of a short-notice Ultimate Fighting Championship debut.
Krantz revealed on social media that he has signed with the Las Vegas-based promotion and will step in to face Vicente Luque in the UFC Rochester co-main event on Saturday. FloCombat.com was first to report the new booking. Neil Magny was originally scheduled to face Luque.
Krantz was invited to compete on the Contender Series this summer by UFC President Dana White after knocking out Justin Patterson in the opening frame of the Legacy Fighting Alliance 63 headliner on March 29. The 31-year-old owns a 22-10 career record and has won five of his last six bouts.
The 27-year-old Luque has won eight of his last nine UFC appearances. All of those victories have occurred inside the distance, including a third-round stoppage of Bryan Barberena in his most recent outing at UFC on ESPN 1.
UFC Fight Night 152 takes place at Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, N.Y., and is headlined by a welterweight clash between Kevin Lee and Rafael dos Anjos. The card will air in its entirety on ESPN+.