UFC 257: Matt Frevola and Arman Tsarukyan now set to fight each other

Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports

Hey, you’re already at the venue and both made weight, right? Things didn’t go so well at the last minute for a few fighters scheduled to fight at UFC 257, but it looks like we’ll get the b…


MMA: UFC 240-Aubin Mercier vs Tsarukyan
Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports

Hey, you’re already at the venue and both made weight, right?

Things didn’t go so well at the last minute for a few fighters scheduled to fight at UFC 257, but it looks like we’ll get the best of a bad situation. Due to the cancellation of fights between Ottman Azaitar vs Matt Frevola and Arman Tsarukyan vs Nasrat Haqparast, arrangements have been made for Frevola and Tsarukyan to fight each other on this card.

Haqparast was unable to make weight on his first attempt and did not make it back within the allotted time window to retry, and Ottman reportedly did not show at all.

Frevola (8-1, 1 draw) is currently 2-1 with 1 draw in the UFC, with both of his wins being back to back decisions against very tough opposition in Luis Peña and Jalin Turner. The Floridian had a great undefeated run at the amateur level and appears to have really found his footing in the UFC.

Tsarukyan (15-2) has a solid wrestling base and has spent a chunk of his time down at Tiger Muay Thai sharpening his overall game. He’s also got back to back wins after losing his UFC debut, with those wins coming against Olivier Aubin-Mercier and Davi Ramos.

Considering their standings in the division, this change really shouldn’t hurt either fighter’s possible upward mobility with a win. Both are good talents that are a bit more seasoned than the average prospect and still appear to be developing quite nicely. It also doesn’t hurt that they’ll at least get paid and can stay active in an already complicated environment.

UFC 257 takes place this Saturday night, live from Abu Dhabi. Main card kicks off at 10:00pm EST for those of us stateside and will be streaming exclusively on PPV via ESPN+.