3 UFC Fights Canceled as Fighters Suffer From Medical Conditions Unrelated to COVID-19

UFC Fight Night: Felder vs Dos Anjos has undergone some massive changes at the eleventh hour. UFC Broadcasters Michael Bisping and Brendan Fitzgerald had plenty to say in terms of updates once the preliminary card kicked off. Chiefly, the fight card has seen plenty of hiccups right from the change to the main event that took place.

Islam Makhachev was originally slated to be Rafael Dos Anjos’ opponent but he had to pull out due to undisclosed issues. ‘The Irish Dragon’ Paul Felder stepped in on less than a weeks’ notice and more or less saved the card. Moreover, weigh-in day saw its fair share of hurdles as several fighters missed weight. Not to mention, the lapses in weight were as large as three pounds in one particular case.

UFC Fight Night: Felder vs Dos Anjos- How does it stack up?

UFC commentator Brendan Fitzgerald was quick to break the news that the main card opener had fallen out. Middleweights Eryk Anders and Antonio Arroyo were set to duke it out before ‘Ya Boi’ Eryk had to pull out. It was revealed that a non-COVID-19 related medical issue ensured that Anders was off the card.

Fans are speculating that it has something to do with the fact that he missed weight by 1.5 pounds. Anders had to pay out 20% of his fight purse to Antonio. Additionally, a women’s strawweight bout between Ashley Yoder and Miranda Granger has been placed on the main card for UFC Vegas 14.

To pile in on matters, the preliminary card wasn’t exempted from disaster as the bantamweight bout between Louis Smolka and Jose Quinonez was scrapped. The cancelation happened about an hour before the card hit the airwaves, thus robbing fans of another scrap. Interestingly enough, the aforementioned bout had seen its fair share of problems on weigh-in day.

The UFC has had to adapt to several critical issues in the past, however, non-COVID-related issues threatened to tear down the card.  Yesterday saw a middleweight bout between Julian Marquez and Saparbek Safarov fall-out as well. Fans will hope that the marquee headlining feature stays intact and will deliver in a massive way.

Also Read: UFC Fight Night: Felder vs Dos Anjos- Kay Hansen vs Cory McKenna: Prediction and Analysis