Mallory Martin steps in to face Virna Jandiroba at UFC on ESPN 7

Mallory Martin wasn’t granted a contract this past summer on Dana White’s Contender Series, but she didn’t have to wait long for a UFC offer.

A veteran of Invicta FC and LFA, Martin (6-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) takes on former Invicta champ Virna Jandiroba (14-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) at UFC on ESPN 7. Martin will replace Livia Renata Souza, who withdrew from the bout due to a back injury.

A person with knowledge of the situation confirmed the news to MMA Junkie following an initial report from MMA Fighting.

UFC on ESPN 7 takes place Dec. 7 at Capital One Arena in Washington D.C. The card airs on ESPN following early prelims on ESPN+.

Martin has won five straight fights entering UFC on ESPN 7. Her two career losses both came in 2017, suffered at the hands of Maycee Barber and Sunna Daviosdottir.

Jirandoba made her promotional debut in April at UFC on ESPN+ 8, where she lost to former UFC strawweight champion Carla Esparza by unanimous decision.

MAIN CARD (ESPN, 9 p.m. ET)

• Alistair Overeem vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
• Cynthia Calvillo vs. Marina Rodriguez
• Ben Rothwell vs. Stefan Struve
• Yana Kunitskaya vs. Aspen Ladd
• Cody Stamann vs. Song Yadong
• Rob Font vs. Ricky Simon

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN, 7 p.m. ET)

• Thiago Alves vs. Tim Means
• Billy Quarantillo vs. TBA
• Bryce Mitchell vs. Matt Sayles
• Joe Solecki vs. Matt Wiman

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 5:30 p.m. ET)

• Virna Jandiroba vs. Mallory Martin
• Makhmud Muradov vs. Trevor Smith