With Julio Arce out, Martin Day agrees to face Timur Valiev at UFC Fight Night 184

In search of his first octagon win, Martin Day has agreed to step in as a short-notice replacement.

Julio Arce has been forced out of UFC Fight Night 184, and Day (8-5 MMA, 0-3 UFC) is now expected to face Timur Valiev (16-2-1 MMA, 0-0-1 UFC) in a featherweight bout at next Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 184, which streams live on ESPN+ from UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Two persons with knowledge of the booking told MMA Junkie on Saturday of the plans. They asked to remain anonymous since the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. Reporter Rob DeMello was first to report the news. Bout agreements have yet to be finalized,

Hawaii’s Day has dropped his first three UFC bouts, most recently suffering a first-round submission at the hands of Anderson dos Santos in November. His last win came in August 2018, when he captured the vacant Universal Reality Combat Championship title with a second-round TKO of Brady Huang.

Valiev will also be in search of his first octagon win. The Dagestani-born fighter suffered a second-round knockout loss to Trevin Jones in his promotional debut in August, which was later overturned to a no contest after Jones tested positive for marijuana.

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
• Devonte Smith vs. opponent TBA
• Joselyne Edwards vs. Karol Rosa
• Molly McCann vs. Lara Procopio
• Seungwoo Choi vs. Youssef Zalal
• Denys Bondar vs. Ode Osbourne