With just a little over a week to go until UFC On ESPN 30, the card has taken a hit with several fighters having withdrawn from their scheduled bouts.
That includes Sara McMann, who was scheduled to fight Ketlen Vieira on the main card in a clash of top-10 ranked bantamweights.
“Ugh, I have crappy news to share,” the 40-year-old McMann had stated on social media. “I am out of the August 28 fight because of a reinjury. I’m hoping like hell it’s a quick healing process but I’ll have to wait until I get the final prognosis to know. The worst part is that I was so healthy and having a really great camp.
“I know I’ll keep the gains I’ve made but I was really hoping to get the reward for all of the work I’ve put in the last few months. If [Ketlen Vieira] is able to wait and push our fight date back, I’m happy to do that. I’ll be back to the [UFC] as quickly as possible.”
Meanwhile, Aliaskhab Khizriev has withdrawn from his fight with Alessio Di Chirico due to an undisclosed injury, while Mario Bautista has tested positive for Covid-19, leading to his bout against Guido Cannetti being scrapped.
At this stage it’s still possible that Vieira, Khiriziev and Cannetti could all remain on the card if alternative opponents can be found on short-notice, but there’s nothing official on that so far.
Meanwhile, the ravaged card continues with the main event beteween Edson Barboza and Giga Chikadze still intact, while Kevin Lee fights late-replacement Daniel Rodriguez in the co-main event.
