Just hours before they were set to step into the octagon, Louis Smolka and Jose Quinonez have been removed from UFC Fight Night 182.
UFC officials announced the change 30 minutes prior to the start of tonight’s event, which streams live on ESPN+ from UFC Apex in Las Vegas and now proceeds with just nine fights.
Smolka, who weighed in at 139 pounds for the bantamweight matchup, was deemed “medically unfit” to compete according to UFC officials, who clarified the removal was not related to any COVID-19 testing results.
The Smolka (16-7 MMA, 7-7 UFC) vs. Quinonez (8-4 MMA, 5-3 UFC) fight is the third contest to be scratched from UFC Fight Night 182 over the past day.
Eryk Anders (13-5 MMA, 5-5 UFC), who also missed weight on Friday, withdrew overnight from his middleweight bout with Antonio Arroyo (9-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC), while Saparbek Safarov (9-3 MMA, 1-3 UFC) withdrew from his middleweight fight against Julian Marquez (7-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) prior to Friday’s official ceremony.
