Modestas Bukauskas says the switch in opponents will not change anything when he steps into the cage in Las Vegas on Saturday night, May 16. Christian Edwards has replaced Rodolfo Bellato after Bellato withdrew because of injury, but Bukauskas said the result and his preparation remain the same.

For Bukauskas, 32, the fight is a catchweight bout, which he said only changes how much he can eat before the contest. He described the matchup as “an extremely explosive fight” and said his focus is on getting the win, calling that outcome already inevitable. “The change of opponent does not change the outcome or the training that I've been doing. all it means I can eat a little bit more as it is at a catchweight,” he said.

The moment carries added weight because Bukauskas is trying to build back from his loss to Nikita Krylov in January on the undercard of the Justin Gaethje vs Paddy Pimblett fight. Before that setback, he put together three straight wins in 2025, a run that had pushed his momentum in the right direction. Now he gets a different kind of test, on short notice, against Edwards in a bout that may be harder to settle into than the one originally planned.

Bukauskas’ path to this point has been shaped long before the UFC spotlight. He moved to the UK from Lithuania when he was 3, grew up in Watford and South Oxhey, and began training in kickboxing at 5. He has often represented Watford in his career, and that background has given his rise a local identity that reaches beyond the cage.

He has also never been a pure light heavyweight in the traditional sense this week, because the bout was set outside his usual division. Bukauskas typically fights at light heavyweight, but the late opponent change means this one sits at catchweight instead, a detail that underscores the short-notice nature of the card in Las Vegas.

The setting matters because this is the first fight since the January loss in which Bukauskas can answer a question about whether the momentum from early 2025 was temporary or the start of something more durable. He said his mind is fixed on one outcome and that he believes the result is already decided before the first bell. “The only thing in my mind is getting the win and for me its already inevitable, I have just got to go out there and do my thing,” he said.

That confidence is part of what has made him a notable presence in the division, but the short-notice change also leaves room for the kind of volatility that comes with replacement opponents. Edwards steps in with little time to shape the narrative, and Bukauskas has already made clear he does not see the switch as a reason to alter his approach. Saturday night should show whether that certainty holds up against a new face across from him.