Roque Martinez vs. Alexander Romanov booked as late addition to UFC on ESPN+ 35

A heavyweight matchup is a late addition to the UFC on ESPN+ 35 lineup.

Former RIZIN fighter Roque Martinez has signed with the UFC and will take on Romania’s Alexander Romanov at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday.

MMA Junkie confirmed the booking with a person with knowledge of the situation after the fight appeared on the UFC’s official stats page.

Romanov (11-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) was supposed to compete last Saturday at UFC on ESPN+ 34. However, hours before the event’s scheduled start time, Romanov’s fight was pulled from the lineup as a result of his opponent Marcos Rogerio de Lima testing positive for COVID-19.

The cancellation was the third in as many bookings Romanov has faced since signing with the promotion in early 2019.

As for the 34-year-old Martinez (15-5-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC), the Guam-born big man has won three of his most recent four outings. In his five RIZIN outings, Martinez won three fights – only losing to Mirko Crop Cop and Jake Heun.

With the addition, the UFC on ESPN+ 35 lineup includes:

Angela Hill vs. Michelle Waterson

• Ottman Azaitar vs. Khama Worthy
• Roxanne Modafferi vs. Andrea Lee
• Ed Herman vs. Mike Rodriguez
• Kyle Nelson vs. Billy Quarantillo
• Tyson Nam vs. Matt Schnell
• Julia Avila vs. Sijara Eubanks
• Matt Frevola vs. Roosevelt Roberts
• Bobby Green vs. Alan Patrick
• Frank Camacho vs. Brok Weaver
• Bryan Barberena vs. Anthony Ivy
• Justine Kish vs. Sabina Mazo
• Roque Martinez vs. Alexander Romanov