It seems not many are predicting an upset at UFC 320 when ‘mini Francis Ngannou’ enters the cage.
After a Perth event that lost five fights in the lead-up, fans are crossing their fingers and hoping that this Saturday’s UFC 320 pay-per-view event in Las Vegas goes off without a hitch.
While the main card is intact, topped by light heavyweight king Magomed Ankalaev’s rematch against Alex Pereira and Merab Dvalishvili’s bantamweight title defense against Cory Sandhagen, there has already been a switch-up on the prelims.
Ozzy Diaz was booked to fight Ateba Gautier, a middleweight powerhouse from Cameroon who has been described as ‘mini Ngannou‘, in the featured prelim. A medical scare forced the American to withdraw, but it thankfully has not taken long for the promotion to find a replacement.
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Ateba Gautier stays on UFC 320 card, faces 10-3 Treston Vines on four days’ notice
Petr Yan pitched a UFC 320 opponent for Gautier, but the higher-ups have gone in a different direction. Filling in will be Treston Vines, with his management team confirming the late-notice debut booking on social media.
The 29-year-old is 10-3 as a pro, with all of his losses coming in fairly brutal fashion. Since being knocked out in just 26 seconds under the Cage Fury Fighting Championships banner in 2023, Vines has won four fights in a row across multiple regional organizations.
As an amateur and pro, Vines has 10 first-round finishes, and he’ll be sharing the cage with someone more than familiar with quick fights at T-Mobile Arena on October 4.
Gautier’s 70-second knockout at UFC 318 this past July marked his sixth first-round stoppage in eight career victories. That’s a tally ‘The Silent Assassin’ will look to add to at his new opponent’s expense this Saturday.
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Fans aren’t giving Treston Vines much of a chance on Magomed Ankalaev vs Alex Pereira undercard
Fans were quick to react to news of Gautier’s UFC 320 fight being saved by a replacement opponent.
Given the nature of Vines’ defeats and his losing record under more well-known banners, it appears that not many are expecting him to survive beyond the first round against a man drawing comparisons to the sport’s hardest hitter.
“Bro is 1-3 in the actually good MMA companies and has been knocked out 3 times in R1… WTF did he do to fight Gautier on 4 days notice?”
“RIP Vines”
“Thoughts and prayers to him.”
“Poor guy.”
“-2500 line inbound.”
“It was fun knowing you, Treston Vines.”
“Thank you for your sacrifice Tristan.”
“This is like putting your own name in the death note.”
“Sounds like a rough debut.”
“Brave move, Vines volunteering to get hit by a truck!”
“Sanctioned homicide.”