Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos out of UFC on ESPN 34; Ange Loosa steps in to fight Mounir Lazzez

After falling short on Dana White’s Contender Series, Ange Loosa will finally get his shot in the UFC.

Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos has been forced out of UFC on ESPN 34, and Loosa (8-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will step in on short notice to face Mounir Lazzez (10-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) at the UFC Apex on Saturday.

Two people with knowledge of the booking confirmed the news to MMA Junkie on Tuesday. They asked to remain anonymous since the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. Ryan Frederick of the Wrestling Observer first reported it.

Loosa failed to earn a UFC contract when he lost an entertaining battle to Jack Della Maddalena at Dana White’s Contender Series 39 this past September. However, the 28-year-old Sanford MMA fighter was able to rebound with a unanimous decision win over ex-UFC fighter John Howard just 10 days ago at XMMA 4.

Meanwhile, Lazzez will return for the first time since suffering a TKO loss to Warlley Alves in January 2021. Prior to that, “The Sniper” scored an impressive win over Abdul Razak Alhassan in his UFC debut in July 2020 on “Fight Island.” Lazzez was scheduled to face Niklas Stolze this past July, but visa issues forced him out of the bout.

With the change, the UFC on ESPN 34 lineup now includes:

• Vicente Luque vs. Belal Muhammad
• Chris Barnett vs. Martin Buday
• Mounir Lazzez vs. Ange Loosa
• Brandon Jenkins vs. Drakkar Klose
• Rafa Garcia vs. Jesse Ronson
• Caio Borralho vs. Gadzhi Omargadzhiev
• Pannie Kianzad vs. Lina Lansberg
• TJ Laramie vs. Pat Sabatini
• Mayra Bueno Silva vs. Wu Yanan
• Jordan Leavitt vs. Trey Ogden
• Sam Hughes vs. Istela Nunes
• Miguel Baeza vs. Andre Fialho
• Heili Alateng vs. Kevin Croom
• Devin Clark vs. William Knight