One week ago, Justin Jaynes didn’t have a fight on the books. Now, he’s fighting Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
After Alex da Silva withdrew from UFC Fight Night 184 due to undisclosed reasons, Jaynes (16-6 MMA, 1-2 UFC) was offered the open lightweight slot against Devonte Smith (10-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC), which he since accepted.
Two people with knowledge of the matchup informed MMA Junkie of the booking Monday but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.
Jaynes made his promotional debut in June 2020 when he knocked out Frank Camacho in 41 seconds. Following his emphatic first impression, Jaynes has lost back-to-back outings vs. Gavin Tucker and Gabriel Benitez. Both losses came inside the distance.
Smith has not competed since a knockout loss to Khama Worthy at UFC 241 in August 2019. After the fight, Smith tore his Achilles tendon, which required surgery and months of rehabilitation.
With the change, the UFC Fight Night 184 lineup includes:
MAIN CARD (ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET)
- Alistair Overeem vs. Alexander Volkov
- Frankie Edgar vs. Cory Sandhagen
- Macy Chiasson vs. Marion Reneau
- Manel Kape vs. Alexandre Pantoja
- Andre Ewell vs. Cody Stamann
- Beneil Dariush vs. Diego Ferreira
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 5 p.m. ET)
- Clay Guida vs. Michael Johnson
- Danilo Marques vs. Mike Rodriguez
- Martin Day vs. Timur Valiev
- Justin Jaynes vs. Devonte Smith
- Joselyne Edwards vs. Karol Rosa
- Molly McCann vs. Lara Procopio
- Seungwoo Choi vs. Youssef Zalal
- Denys Bondar vs. Ode Osbourne
