WHAT A DEBUT!!! @JustinJaynesMMA wastes no time at #UFCVegas3. pic.twitter.com/Hlk10FLw5Z
— UFC (@ufc) June 20, 2020
Jaynes replaces Alex da Silva Coelho, who withdrew from the lightweight contest due to undisclosed reasons. MMAjunkie.com was first to report the change. UFC Fight Night 184 takes place on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a heavyweight tilt between Alistair Overeem and Alexander Volkov. The card streams in its entirety on ESPN+.
Jaynes made a big first impression in his Octagon debut, as he knocked out Frank Camacho in 41 seconds at UFC on ESPN 11 last June. The Xtreme Couture representative didn’t fare as well in his next two outings, as he was submitted by Gavin Tucker at UFC Fight Night 174 and knocked out by Gabriel Benitez at UFC on ESPN 19. “Guitar Hero” is 16-6 since beginning his pro career in 2013.
Smith, meanwhile, had a six-fight professional winning streak halted at UFC 241, where he suffered a first-round TKO defeat at the hands of Khama Worthy. After earning a contract on Season 2 of Dana White’s Contender Series, Smith kicked off his UFC tenure with first-round stoppages of Julian Erosa and Dong Hyun Ma before the defeat to Worthy.