Merab Dvalishvili and Cody Stamann have been paired up yet again.
Though two previous fights fell through, the UFC has booked Dvalishivli (12-4 MMA, 5-2 UFC) vs. Stamann (19-3-1 MMA, 5-2-1 UFC) for the UFC Fight Night event on May 1.
Two people with knowledge of the matchup informed MMA Junkie of the booking on Wednesday but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.
Originally scheduled to fight at UFC on ESPN 19 on Dec. 5, Stamann withdrew from that fight for undisclosed reasons. The matchup was rebooked for UFC Fight Night 184 on Feb. 6. This time, it was Dvalishvili who withdrew, after testing positive for COVID-19.
Entering the fight, Dvalishvili rides a five-fight winning streak into the May 1 event. Notable wins include John Dodson and Casey Kenney. As for Stamann, he’s 2-1-1 in his most recent four fights but is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Jimmie Rivera in July.
With the addition, the May 1 lineup now includes:
- Jiri Prochazka vs. Dominick Reyes
- TJ Brown vs. Kai Kamaka III
- Dean Barry vs. Mike Jackson
- Poliana Botelho vs. Ji Yeon Kim
- K.B. Bhullar vs. Andreas Michailidis
- Damon Jackson vs. TJ Laramie
- Sam Hughes vs. Loma Lookboonmee
- Shamil Abdurakhimov vs. Augusto Sakai
- Krzysztof Jotko vs. Sean Strickland
- Giga Chikadze vs. Cub Swanson
- Gabriel Benitez vs. Jonathan Pearce
- Felipe Colares vs. Journey Newson
- Merab Dvalishvili vs. Cody Stamann
