RUMOR Gamrot reportedly fights Axel Sola on Jan. 23; nose injury keeps reopening

The UFC has not announced it, but Mateusz Gamrot appears to have his comeback fight. Canadian journalist James Lynch reports that Gamrot faces Axel Sola on Jan. 23, on a card expected in Las Vegas, probably at the Meta APEX. Gamrot's own account fits that timing, and his nose is the open question.

The path to the name was short. Gamrot told Artur Mazur on Klatka po Klatce that the UFC contacted him a day earlier with an opponent and a date, and that he had never been offered a fight so far ahead. He said he accepted at once ("Let's go!") but declined to name the opponent. Mazur then posted Sola's name with a question mark, saying he was not certain, and Lynch followed with the date.

The offer comes after a rough stretch. Gamrot, 35, lost to Quillan Salkilld by first-round submission in August, in a Las Vegas main event. He had turned down a late-2026 fight with Brian Ortega, citing the short turnaround and his health.

That health is the catch. Gamrot says the nose, injured before the Salkilld fight, reopened during that bout and again at the ADCC event in Krakow. It opened once more a day before the interview, from a scrape in jiu-jitsu. He suspects the stitches inside the nose are not healing properly, calling it his own impression rather than a diagnosis. He plans to fly to American Top Team in Florida in January, as in recent years.

Sola is a French lightweight who has fought four times in the UFC, according to InTheCage. He beat Ismael Bonfim by D'Arce choke in July 2026 and knocked out Fares Ziam two months later, both in the early rounds. He is not in the UFC's top 15, according to MMA.pl.

Watch for an official UFC announcement of the bout and venue, and for any update on whether the nose has healed before camp starts.

 

[MMA-TV Newsroom]

Gamrot accepted a 2027 UFC fight offer within minutes, yet a recurring broken nose is a concern. Is waiting that long smart for him?