One of the UFC’s bright bantamweight prospects will still compete at The World’s Most Famous Arena.
Multiple people with knowledge of the promotion’s plans confirmed to MMA Fighting that veteran Alatengheili is stepping in on short notice to face Juan Diaz at UFC 334, which takes place Nov. 14 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Marcel Dorff was first to report the new booking.
Alatengheili steps in for Adrian Yanez, who was forced out of the bout with an injury. The 34-year-old makes his 11th UFC appearance, and does so coming off of a split decision win over John Castaneda at UFC Vegas 121 in September. “The Mongolian Knight” has flip-flopped wins and losses over his past five fights.
Diaz gets his toughest test to date on a nine-fight win streak. After earning a contract with an incredible spinning back elbow knockout win on the Contender Series in October 2025, Diaz opened a lot of eyes with a dominant stoppage win over Malcolm Wellmaker at May’s UFC Vegas 116 event, earning a Performance of the Night bonus for his efforts.
UFC 334 is headlined by a heavyweight championship bout between Ciryl Gane and Josh Hokit, while Kayla Harrison defends her women’s bantamweight title for the first time against the returning Amanda Nunes in the co-main event.
