Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on
your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the
ESPN app. The new year has not yet begun and the
Ultimate Fighting Championship is already changing up events in
2021. Makhmud
Muradov (24-6) announced on his Instagram on
Thursday that he would be competing at
UFC 257 in place of Andre Muniz
at middleweight. Muradov will be facing Andrew
Sanchez (12-5) on the card that will go down on Jan. 23 at the
Flash Forum in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Muniz was forced to
withdraw for currently undisclosed reasons. Muradov attempted to
compete through 2020 on four separate occasions, and all four were
scuttled for various reasons.
“My next fight will take place on January 23rd against Andrew
Sanchez,” Muradov wrote on his Instagram via Google
Translate. “In Sha Allah ovsem soon I will please you with another
victory! Thank you all very much for your support.”
“Mach” is currently riding a 13-fight win streak into this contest
with Sanchez, including a pair of wins inside the Octagon over
Alessio
Di Chirico and Trevor
Smith in 2019. A whopping 17-1 since 2014, the Uzbekistan
native’s only defeat in that span came from an injury to his
shoulder against David
Ramires in 2016. Two-thirds of Muradov’s wins – Muradov is the
lone fighter managed by Floyd
Mayweather – have come by knockout, with another 13 percent by
tapout for a solid career finish rate of 79 percent.
Sanchez managed to compete once in 2020, starching Wellington
Turman with one punch at UFC Fight Night 174 in August. The
finish was his first under the UFC banner, as his previous four UFC
wins all came by unanimous verdict. Sanchez made his way to the UFC
by winning Season 23 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” beating Myron
Dennis, Eric
Spicely and Khalil
Rountree to take the top prize and the six-figure contract.
UFC 257 takes place on Jan. 23 on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United
Arab Emirates. Headlining the “Fight Island” pay-per-view card is a
lightweight rematch between Conor
McGregor and Dustin
Poirier. Serving as the co-main event will be Michael
Chandler in his long-awaited promotional debut against Dan Hooker.
Other significant matchups on the card include a middleweight
battle between Brad
Tavares and Antonio
Carlos Jr., and a lightweight clash between Nasrat
Haqparast and Arman
Tsarukyan.
