An intriguing lightweight encounter between Gilbert Melendez and Khabib Nurmagomedov will no longer be taking place as UFC 170 in February.
Dana White confirmed the UFC’s decision to scrap the fight yesterday, though he didn’t offer a reason for backtracking on it.
Melendez is currently ranked as the No.2 contender at lightweight after the former Strikeforce champion logged an impressive victory over Diego Sanchez in one of the fights of 2013 back in October.
Nurmagomedov is ranked at No.7 after a five fight unbeaten run since joining the UFC in early early 2012, leaving his professional record at a flawless 21-0.
UFC 170 already has a fairly strong line-up, with a woman’s bantamweight title fight between Ronda Rousey and Sara McMann set to headline, while Rashad Evans Vs Daniel Cormier serves as the co-main event and Rory MacDonald Vs Demian Maia also features on the main card.
With that in mind the UFC may well have come to the decision that Melendez and Nurmagomedov would be better served fighting on a different card.
It seems that wherever they do now end up they won’t be fighting each other though, with Nurmagomedov’s mangement indicating that they are eager to find a new opponent for their man as soon as possible.
