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Brett Okamoto
The UFC has booked Contender Series standout Baisangur Susurkaev a bout at UFC 319 on Saturday in Chicago, just four days after he earned his contract in Las Vegas.
Susurkaev (9-0) will face Eric Nolan (8-3) on the UFC 319 prelims inside United Center. The 24-year-old scored a first-round knockout on Contender Series on Tuesday, earning high praise from UFC CEO Dana White.
White promised to book Susurkaev’s Octagon debut as soon as possible and ended up delivering him a fight offer in less than 24 hours. Susurkaev took the fight on Contender Series on just four days’ notice as well.
It’s the fastest turnaround by a Contender Series fighter to make his or her UFC debut in the history of the show, a mark that is unlikely to be broken unless the promotion was to change its schedule.
A lightweight fight between King Green and Diego Ferreira scheduled for the UFC 319 event has been canceled, according to the UFC, but will be rebooked at a later date. The card losing this fight opened a spot for the Susurkaev addition.
Fighting out of Chechnya, Susurkaev will join a UFC 319 lineup that includes fellow Chechen Khamzat Chimaev vying for his first championship against Dricus Du Plessis in the main event.
Susurkaev has recorded seven first-round finishes in his nine-fight career. His opponent, Nolan, will also be making his UFC debut. He is on a four-fight win streak that includes knockouts in his past three fights.