“Grim” is right back at it.
Fresh off his win at UFC Vegas 117
, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Flyweight Luis Gurule is stepping up on short notice to face Japanese prospect Rei Tsuruya at UFC Macau next weekend (Sat., May 30, 2026).Gurule replaces Mexican Flyweight Jesus Aguilar, who was originally scheduled to fight Tsuruya before being forced to withdraw from the matchup.
Heavy.com was first to report the booking.
Gurule (11-3) was essentially fighting for his UFC future this past weekend
after beginning his Octagon career 0-3 — and he delivered in a big way.
“Grim” dominated Daniel Barez at UFC Vegas 117 to earn his first UFC victory and secure his place on the roster after entering the fight under serious pressure.
Before the win, Gurule had dropped decisions to Alden Coria and Aguilar, while also suffering a stoppage loss to Ode Osbourne in his promotional debut (watch highlights).
Now, less than two weeks later, he gets a huge opportunity against one of the promotion’s better Flyweight prospects.
Tsuruya (12-1) has not competed since March 2025, when he suffered the first loss of his professional career against current UFC Flyweight champion Joshua Van.
Prior to that setback, the 23-year-old Japanese grappling specialist impressed in his UFC debut by defeating Carlos Hernandez via unanimous decision.
Tsuruya originally earned his UFC contract by winning Road to UFC Season 2 and remains one of the more highly regarded Flyweight prospects in Asia.
As for Gurule, this is a massive opportunity to completely flip the narrative surrounding his UFC career.
What looked like a likely roster cut just a week ago has suddenly turned into back-to-back UFC appearances and a chance to derail a highly touted prospect overseas.
Here is what UFC Macau looks like:
- Song Yadong vs. Deiveson Figueiredo
- Zhang Mingyang vs. Alonzo Menifield
- Sergei Pavlovich vs. Tallison Teixeira
- Kai Asakura vs. Cameron Smotherman
- Jake Matthews vs. Carlston Harris
- Alex Perez vs. Sumudaerji
- YiSak Lee vs. Luis Dias
- Ding Meng vs. José Henrique
- Aoriqileng vs. Cody Haddon
- Rei Tsuruya vs. Luis Gurule
- Angela Hill vs. Xiong Jingnan
- Zhu Kangjie vs. Rodrigo Vera
- Loma Lookboonmee vs. Jaqueline Amorim
To checkout UFC’s upcoming schedule of events click here.
