Antonio Carlos Junior injured, Makhmud Muradov fight scratched from UFC on ESPN+ 28

A middleweight fight between Antonio Carlos Junior and Makhmud Muradov won’t go down at UFC on ESPN+ 28 after all.

An unspecified injury to Carlos Junior (10-4 MMA, 7-4 UFC) has taken the fight off the March card. Muradov (24-6 MMA, 2-0 UFC) was originally tabbed as a replacement opponent, but now the matchup has been scratched entirely.

MMA Junkie verified the news with a person close to the situation Monday. The person wished to remain anonymous because the UFC has yet to make an official announcement.

Muradov took to social media, however, and explained his side of how events unfolded (via Instagram):

View this post on Instagram

Ассаламу Алейкум Добрый день! К сожалению мой следующий бой 14 марта отменён. Мой соперник получил травму, желаю ему скорейшего выздоровления, надеюсь в будущем мы ещё встретимся в октагоне ✊🏻 Моя команда ведёт переговоры по поводу следующего боя, где и когда будет следующий бой скоро сообщим Ин Ша Аллах 🤲🏻 Всем вам большое спасибо за вашу поддержку ✊🏻 все по воле Всевышнего Альхамдулиллах 🤲🏻☝🏻❤️ —————————————————————Ahoj Všem moc mě to mrzí, ale mám pro vás špatnou zprávu. Zápas v Brazílii který se měl konat 14.3. Se bohužel neuskuteční můj soupeř Carlos Jr se zranil i to k tomuhle sportu patří a já bych mu rád popřál brzké uzdravení. Snad se ještě někdy utkáme. Nebudu součástí turnaje v Brazílii ale to nevadi my jedeme dál a mákáme. Stále jednáme s UFC jakmile budu vědět o dalším zápase určitě vám dám vědět. Děkuji za vaší podporu. ————————————————————-Hi everybody, I am so sorry, but I have some bad news for you. My announced match, in Brazil, against Carlos Jr. is not gonna happen. My opponent was injured and isn’t able to take part in this bount. This, as many other miserable things, simply belong to this sport and I would only like to wish him an early recovery. Hopefully, we will fight, against each other, sometime in the future! Per conseqences, I won’t be part of the tournament in Brazil, but it doesn’t matter, we go on and continue to work even harder. We are negotiating with the UFC, and as soon as I’ll know something new, about my next fight I’ll definitely let you know. Thank you for your support! —————————————————————— #muradov #alhamdulillah #tmt #ufc

A post shared by Makhmud “Mach” Muradov (@makhmud_muradov) on Jan 13, 2020 at 1:26pm PST

Hi everybody, I am so sorry, but I have some bad news for you. My announced match, in Brazil, against Carlos Jr. is not gonna happen. My opponent was injured and isn’t able to take part in this bount. This, as many other miserable things, simply belong to this sport and I would only like to wish him an early recovery. Hopefully, we will fight, against each other, sometime in the future! Per conseqences, I won’t be part of the tournament in Brazil, but it doesn’t matter, we go on and continue to work even harder. We are negotiating with the UFC, and as soon as I’ll know something new, about my next fight I’ll definitely let you know. Thank you for your support!

UFC on ESPN+ 28 takes place March 14 at Ginasio Nilson Nelson in Brasilia, Brazil. The card is expected to stream on ESPN+.