With Montserrat Ruiz out, Cheyanne Buys steps in to face Mallory Martin at UFC on ESPN 31

Just days after having to withdraw from her upcoming bout, Cheyanne Buys already has her next fight booked.

Montserrat Ruiz has been forced out of UFC on ESPN 31 and Buys (6-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) will step in to face Mallory Martin (7-4 MMA, 1-2 UFC) on Dec. 4.

A person with knowledge of the matchup confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie on Tuesday but asked to remain anonymous because the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. MMA Fighting was first to report the news.

UFC on ESPN 31 takes place Dec. 4 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card airs on ESPN and streams on ESPN+.

After dropping her UFC debut to Ruiz, Dana White’s Contender Series graduate Buys picked up a “Performance of the Night” head kick finish of Gloria de Paula at UFC on ESPN 28 in July. The 26-year-old was scheduled to face Loma Lookboonmee at UFC Fight Night 198 on Saturday, but withdrew due to a positive COVID-19 test.

An Invicta FC and LFA veteran, Martin will look to get back to the win column. After picking up a “Performance of the Night” submission over Hannah Cifers in August 2020, Martin was submitted by Polyana Viana at UFC 258 in February.

The latest UFC on ESPN 31 lineup now includes:

• Rob Font vs. Jose Aldo
• Jimmy Crute vs. Jamahal Hill
• Jake Matthews vs. Jeremiah Wells
• Chris Gruetzemacher vs. Claudio Puelles
• Rafael Fiziev vs. Brad Riddell
• Cheyanne Buys vs. Mallory Martin
• Brendan Allen vs. Brad Tavares
• Bryan Barberena vs. Matt Brown
• Zhalgas Zhumagulov vs. Manel Kape
• Vince Morales vs. Louis Smolka
• Clay Guida vs. Leonardo Santos
• Mickey Gall vs. Alex Morono
• Maki Pitolo vs. Dusko Todorovic