Who is Zviad Lazishvili, the MMA fighter set to make promotional debut on three days' notice against Jonathan Martinez at UFC Fight Night: Costa vs. Vettori

Zviad Lazishvili will make his debut at UFC Fight Night: Costa vs Vettori [Image credits: @zviadlazishvili on Instagram]
Zviad Lazishvili will make his debut at UFC Fight Night: Costa vs Vettori [Image credits: @zviadlazishvili on Instagram]

Zviad Lazishvili is an MMA fighter who competes at bantamweight. The 29-year-old is set to make his promotional debut at UFC Fight Night: Costa vs Vettori this Saturday.

Lazishvili will compete against Jonathan Martinez in a 135-pound scrap. Martinez was originally supposed to face Aaron Phillips. However, Phillips was forced to drop out of the fight this week. 29-year-old Lazishvili has now stepped up on just three days' notice to take on the challenge.

The Georgian currently has an undefeated record of 12-0. His last fight took place at LFA 90 last September. Lazishvili defeated Ricky Steele via rear-naked choke in the opening round of the fight.


Zviad Lazishvili was supposed to make his debut last month

Zviad Lazishvili was originally expected to compete in his first UFC bout at UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs Till. The Georgian native was matched up against Jack Shore but the fight did not come to fruition.

Lazishvili uploaded a post to Instagram account, giving clarity as to why he did not compete in September. In the post, the 29-year-old posted a picture of his foot, implying he was unable to compete due to an injury.

"My dear friends and all of you who were waiting for my fight. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to fight this upcoming UFC night on September 4th. You can see the reason from the photo, regardless I was determined to continue the fight but it didn’t work out. This is the part of the game I dislike the most, but that is the fuel which gives me energy to train harder and set my goals even higher. My apologies to Sean Shelby and big Thanks for understanding my situation... Wishing the best lack to Jack Shore! One day I am sure we will share the octagon and I will surprise you even more. Coming back soon in my best shape to set the fire in UFC," wrote Zviad Lazishvili.

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