Fight cancellations continue to pile up for the UFC this summer.
It’s been a tough month to say the least for the premier MMA promotion with eight fight cancellations ahead of their debut event in Saudi Arabia this Saturday and five more fights falling through from UFC 303, including Conor McGregor most notably having to withdraw from next week’s massive pay-per-view event due to injury.
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Replacements sent out to save the card included a bout between light heavyweight contenders Carlos Ulberg and Anthony Smith, who stepped in on two week’s notice. However, that fight has now been cancelled with #11-ranked Ulberg withdrawing due to undisclosed reasons, according to a report from Benny P on Friday.
MMA journalist Ariel Helwani confirmed the news, reporting that Smith is “hoping to stay on the card” with the current front-runner for a replacement being Top 10 middleweight contender Roman Dolidze. As of this writing, the potential fight between Smith and Dolidze has yet to be finalized.
Carlos Ulberg is out of next week’s 303 fight vs. Anthony Smith, per sources.
First reported by @Bendaman2001.
Smith, who accepted this fight last week after Jamahal Hill suffered a knee injury, is hoping to stay on the card, I’m told. Current replacement front is Roman…
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) June 21, 2024
Georgia’s Dolidze is coming off back-to-back losses to Marvin Vettori and Nassourdine Imavov while “Lionheart” Smith returned to his winning ways with a slick submission of 11-0 Vitor Petrino at UFC 301 in May.
Carlos Ulberg’s withdrawal marks the fifth and latest fight to fall out from UFC 303, with the light heavyweight main card feature being changed a total of three times already. Former champ Jamahal Hill was originally scheduled to meet Khalil Rountree Jr, who was pulled from the card after consuming a banned substance with the fighter claiming he “did not do this intentionally”.
Ulberg would replace Rountree Jr, but Hill would be the next domino to fall, having to withdraw due to a knee injury. Former UFC title challenger Smith took it upon himself to step in for his injured teammate Hill, but their game plan for Ulberg went out the window with the Kiwi no longer fighting at UFC 303.
A flyweight bout between Cody Durden and Carlos Hernandez was also among the cancellations to hit UFC 303, with Durden pulling out and the undefeated Rei Tsuruya stepping in to make his UFC debut on short notice.
We’ll see if the rest of the card stays intact for International Fight Week, which kicks off from Las Vegas, Nevada in a matter of days.
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