Brad Tavares has pulled out of his UFC 283 fight against Gregory Rodrigues on January 21st in Brazil.
No reason has yet been given for Tavares call-off, with the 12-year UFC veteran having been heading into the fight off a loss against Dricus du Plessis in the summer of last year, though he had won two in a row prior to that.
With Tavares out that leaves the UFC with just 10 days to figure out what to do next, though Tavares’ opponent ‘Robocop’ has made it easier for them by stating that he’s willing, ready and able to face a fresh opponent on short notice.
“He’s out,” Rodrigues told SuperBook Sports. “UFC started working to find someone to fight me in Brazil. I hope they find somebody. I was so prepared. I was so excited for my fight against Brad, to get a guy with his experience. But that’s not going to happen, not on this show.
“One thing I know is I’m ready. I’m so prepared. Anyone can come and ‘Robocop’ will be ready. I’ll put a show on.”
Rodrigues is currently 4-1 in the UFC and is coming off back-to-back stoppage victories via strikes, having KO’d Julian Marquez and TKO’d Chidi Njokuani.
Whether the UFC are able to keep ‘Robocop’ on the card or not the UFC 283 event will proceed with an intact main card that is topped by a fight for the vacant light-heavyweight title between Glover Teixeira and Jamahal Hill, while flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo fights Brandon Moreno for the fourth time in the co-main event.
