Tucker Lutz pulled from Lando Vannata fight, Lutz vs. Pat Sabatini in the works
Pat Sabatini is going to need to keep these Tuckers straight.
Sabatini (15-3 MMA, 2-0 UFC) was set to take on Gavin Tucker (13-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) next month at UFC Fight Night 198. But Tucker is out, and a fight for Sabatini against Tucker Lutz (12-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) now is in the works, a person with knowledge of the new matchup told MMA Junkie. The person requested anonymity because the UFC has not yet made a formal announcement.
Lutz was scheduled to fight Lando Vannata (12-5-2 MMA, 4-5-2 UFC) a week earlier at UFC Fight Night 197. His shift to the Sabatini fight leaves Vannata without an opponent. It is not yet known if Vannata will remain on the card against a new opponent or will fight at a later date.
UFC Fight Night 197 takes place Nov. 13 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. UFC Fight Night 198 takes place at the same venue a week later on Nov. 20. Both cards will stream on ESPN+.
Lutz dropped his pro debut in 2015, but is on a 12-fight winning streak since then. After a pair of wins on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2020, he made his promotional debut in May and took a unanimous decision against Kevin Aguilar at UFC 262.
Sabatini has won four straight fights. After he won the CFFC featherweight title in December 2020, he signed with the UFC. He won his promotional debut in April with a decision over Tristan Connelly. In August, he submitted Jamall Emmers in the first round.
With the change, the UFC Fight Night 198 lineup now includes:
Miesha Tate vs. Ketlen Vieira
Augusto Sakai vs. Tai Tuivasa
Sean Brady vs. Michael Chiesa
Joanne Calderwood vs. Taila Santos
Cody Durden vs. Aori Qileng
Cheyanne Buys vs. Loma Lookboonmee
Terrance McKinney vs. Fares Ziam
Rafa Garcia vs. Natan Levy
Tucker Lutz vs. Pat Sabatini
Azamat Murzakanov vs. Marcin Prachnio
Denys Bondar vs. Malcolm Gordon
Davey Grant vs. Adrian Yanez
Shayilan Nuerdanbieke vs. Sean Soriano
The UFC Fight Night 197 lineup includes:
Max Holloway vs. Yair Rodriguez
Da Un Jung vs. Kennedy Nzechukwu
Cynthia Calvillo vs. Andrea Lee
Marcos Rogerio de Lima vs. Ben Rothwell
Philipe Lins vs. Ovince Saint Preux
Lando Vannata vs. TBA
Leah Letson vs. Felicia Spencer
Collin Anglin vs. Sean Woodson
Julio Arce vs. Song Yadong
Joel Alvarez vs. Thiago Moises
Kyle Daukaus vs. Kevin Holland