AUCKLAND, New Zealand – UFC on ESPN+ 26 lost one fight in the midst of Friday’s official weigh-in window.
The welterweight bout between Maki Pitolo and Takashi Sato will not take place on the upcoming card after one fighter fell ill.
After Sato (15-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) made weight without issue, Pitolo (11-5 MMA, 0-1 UFC) failed to step on the scale and the matchup was called off by doctors.
UFC officials confirmed Pitolo would not weigh in and the fight was canceled. No further details were immediately provided other than Pitolo’s “illness.”
No late replacement will be found, and due to the scratch, UFC on ESPN+ 26 will proceed with 12 scheduled bouts. The card takes place at Spark Arena and streams on ESPN+.
The latest UFC on ESPN+ 26 lineup now includes:
MAIN CARD (ESPN+, 7 p.m. ET)
- Paul Felder vs. Dan Hooker
- Jimmy Crute vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk
- Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs. Yan Xiaonan
- Marcos Rogerio de Lima vs. Ben Sosoli
- Magomed Mustafaev vs. Brad Riddell
- Kevin Aguilar vs. Zubaira Tukhugov
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 4 p.m. ET)
- Josh Culibao vs. Jalin Turner
- Jake Matthews vs. Emil Meek
- Song Kenan vs. Callan Potter
- Kai Kara-France vs. Tyson Nam
- Angela Hill vs. Loma Lookboonmee
- Priscila Cachoeira vs. Shana Dobson
