Uran Satybaldiev Replaces Injured Nzechukwu vs. Martin Buday at UFC Vegas 105

The only heavyweight bout on the UFC’s fight card this weekend has changed days before it was set to go down.

Per the organization on Thursday, Kennedy Nzechukwu has sustained an injury that has ejected him from UFC Vegas 105, also known as UFC on ESPN 65. In Nzechukwu’s stead will be the debuting Uran Satybaldiev (8-0), who meet Martin Buday (14-2) above 206 pounds.

Slovakia’s Buday competed once in 2024, putting his first knockout loss behind him by swiping a split decision over ex-champ Andrei Arlovski. Before losing to Shamil Gaziev in the Octagon, Buday had racked up a 12-fight win streak that included names like Josh Parisian and Chris Barnett, with four in the Octagon including his 2022 debut. Buday made his way to the Las Vegas-based league courtesy of a knee-based knockout of Lorenzo Hood on the 2021 season of Dana White’s Contender Series.

Satybaldiev, who fights out of the Uulu Kyrgyz Team in Kyrgyzstan, made the jump stateside in 2023 when he appeared under the Legacy Fighting Alliance umbrella. Working his way up quickly to a championship opportunity, Satybaldiev claimed the interim LFA light heavyweight strap from Bruno Assis and the undisputed throne against Leon Soares in March—in the latter, he landed his first career submission.

UFC on ESPN 65, or more commonly referred to as UFC Vegas 105, will carry on at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on April 5. The main event remains a featherweight contest pitting Josh Emmett vs. Lerone Murphy. It is currently unclear if the UFC will slot the card around due to the change in heavyweight match, but it remains on the main card for the time being. Other matches on the top of the billing include a 145-pound match when Pat Sabatini faces Joanderson Brito, and a bantamweight affair between Cortavious Romious and Chang Ho Lee.