Gaston Bolanos is out of his featherweight fight with Francis Marshall at UFC Vegas 123 on Oct. 31, and he brought the receipts. The Peruvian posted a graphic photo to Instagram on Thursday showing a nasty gash above his eyebrow that he suffered in training. He then revealed that the cut wasn’t the whole story. A separate injury from camp also helped force him off the Halloween card at Meta Apex in Las Vegas. Nolan King of MMA Junkie flagged the withdrawal on X shortly after Bolanos posted.
“Not a message I’m happy about announcing, but sometimes our plan is different than God’s plan,” Bolanos wrote. He apologized to Marshall, his fans and his supporters, called the situation completely outside his control, and said he’ll let his body heal before coming back at 100 percent. His sign-off was short: “I will be back.” He didn’t offer a return timeline.
The UFC didn’t spend long hunting. Heavy first reported that Dakota Hope will step in against Marshall on short notice. A person with knowledge of the situation confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie, although the promotion hasn’t made an official announcement yet.
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For Bolanos, the timing stings. The former Bellator standout was chasing his second straight win after taking a unanimous decision over Michael Aswell Jr. in June. He’s 9-5 as a pro and has won three of his five UFC appearances.
Marshall, meanwhile, keeps his date and his momentum. The 27-year-old “Fire” is 10-3 and has won two in a row. He earned his contract on the Contender Series in 2022 by beating Connor Matthews, then knocked out Marcelo Rojo in Round 2 of his UFC debut to stay unbeaten. The following stretch was rough. He lost to William Gomis, got finished by Isaac Dulgarian, edged Dennis Buzukja by split decision and then dropped a disputed split decision to Mairon Santos. That left him 1-3 in his last four. He answered by submitting Erik Silva with a rear-naked choke in Round 1 earlier this year. He followed that by taking a short-notice fight at lightweight and beating Lucas Brennan by unanimous decision.
Hope, 29, is 11-2 and still looking for his first Octagon win. He got the call on short notice in April, when he was hoping to land a Contender Series spot, and lost a split decision to Kai Kamaka III in a three-round scrap that could have taken Fight of the Night honors. Before that, he collected regional titles and fought under the LFA and Fury FC banners, and he beat Mauricio Gomez earlier this year. He trains at 4oz Fight Club under former UFC fighter Daniel Pineda, alongside reigning flyweight champion Joshua Van.
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My quick take: credit to Hope, who apparently answers the phone every single time it rings. Two short-notice UFC fights in one year is how you earn goodwill with matchmakers, and his debut loss was close enough that nobody should treat him like a tune-up. Marshall is the clear favorite on paper because he had a full camp. Still, a guy with power and nothing to lose is exactly the kind of opponent who wrecks a win streak. If Marshall makes it three straight on Halloween, he should be getting a ranked name next. Bolanos has a swollen eyebrow and an open calendar. The card goes on Oct. 31, with Renato Moicano vs. Tom Nolan in the main event.
