Marcus McGhee's UFC 332 opponent changed twice in the final days of fight week. Benardo Sopaj, originally booked to face McGhee at bantamweight, withdrew with an injury, and UFC newcomer Anthony Romero stepped in on just three days' notice — at featherweight instead of bantamweight. The fight still happens Saturday in Salt Lake City, but almost nothing else about it is the same matchup it was a week ago.
What Actually Happened
Sopaj was pulled from the card due to injury, close enough to fight night that the UFC needed a replacement who could make weight and get a visa or travel sorted in days, not weeks. Anthony Romero, the reigning bantamweight champion for the regional promotion Up Next Fighting, took the booking. Because the turnaround was too fast for Romero to safely cut to bantamweight, the bout was contracted at featherweight instead — a heavier weight class than either man normally competes in, though closer to Romero's natural size than McGhee's.
That combination — new opponent, new weight class, three days to prepare — is about as disruptive as a late change gets without the fight being scrapped outright. It's also a good example of how fight cards actually get built in real time; for the general mechanics of how and why these scrambles happen, see our explainer on short-notice fights.
Who Is Anthony Romero
Romero, 26, fights out of Black House MMA in Los Angeles and enters at 7-2 with one no contest. He's unbeaten in his last six fights and was actively defending his Up Next Fighting bantamweight title as recently as May 2026, when he knocked out Yuma Horiuchi in 25 seconds. Four of his seven professional wins have come by knockout and two by submission — only one of his wins has gone to the scorecards, a sign of a fighter who tends to end things rather than out-point them.
None of that career has happened inside the UFC, though, which is the central question mark hanging over this fight. Regional knockout power doesn't always carry over against better athletes and better chins, and Romero is absorbing a weight-class jump and a three-day camp at the same time he's finding that out. His full fighter profile has the complete career breakdown.
Why McGhee Is Still the Favorite
Marcus McGhee, 36, is the more tested commodity by a wide margin. He's 11-2 as a pro and has already shared the cage with a former UFC champion — he gave Petr Yan a competitive fight in July 2025 before losing a decision, his only defeat inside the Octagon. He bounced back in June 2026 with a decision win over John Yannis. Eight of his eleven career wins have come by knockout or TKO, so he's not just durable — he can close a show himself if the opening is there.
Sportsbooks have McGhee as a clear but not overwhelming favorite at -150, with Romero priced at +125 as of October 1. That's roughly a 60 percent implied probability for McGhee — enough to make him the expected winner without suggesting this is a foregone conclusion. McGhee's fighter page has his full UFC résumé.
Why the Weight-Class Move Matters
Short-notice fights routinely get contracted at catchweights or at whichever division the available replacement can actually make on short notice — see what a catchweight fight actually is for how that works more broadly. Here, that means Romero is fighting one weight class up from where his entire pro career has taken place, against an opponent who has spent his UFC tenure at the same heavier number. Extra size can cut either way: it may blunt some of Romero's speed advantage, or it may mean he's hitting just as hard without having drained himself making a lower number on no notice. It's one more unknown layered onto a fight that already has several.
Where This Sits on the Card
The McGhee-Romero bout is on the UFC 332 preliminary card, well below a loaded main card topped by Natalia Silva and Wang Cong fighting for the vacant women's flyweight title. But late-replacement fights like this one are exactly the kind of bout that can turn into the night's most talked-about result — an unproven puncher getting a short-notice opportunity against a veteran is a classic recipe for an upset, even if the smart money says otherwise. The full UFC 332 card has every fight on the lineup, with current odds and tale-of-the-tape breakdowns for each matchup.
The Takeaway
Anthony Romero's UFC debut is happening on the shortest possible runway: new opponent, new weight class, three days to get ready. That's a brutal set of circumstances for anyone, and it's why McGhee is favored despite facing a fighter with real knockout power. But three-days'-notice debuts have produced famous upsets before, and Romero's style — fast finishes, rarely needing a decision — means this fight has a real chance to end before the judges are needed either way.