The featured prelim for UFC on ESPN 24 will no longer take place Saturday.
Philipe Lins has fallen ill and was ruled out of his heavyweight matchup with Ben Rothwell prior to weigh-ins Friday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Rothwell (38-13 MMA, 8-7 UFC) successfully made weight at 264.5 pounds. Lins (14-5 MMA, 0-2 UFC) was nowhere to be found, and news later emerged that he was dealing with medical complications and would not be stepping on the scale.
UFC officials subsequently confirmed to MMA Junkie that the fight is off the card.
Rothwell issued a statement on the situation on social media (via Instagram):
I made the weight , ready to go. UNFORTUNATELY my opponent has gotten ill today , and the fight has been scratched. @phillipelins I hope you are ok and can recover 🙏💪 #godspeed #ufc
UFC on ESPN 24 also lost a flyweight matchup between Ryan Benoit and Zarrukh Adashev due to a botched weight cut, and the event will now proceed with 10 bouts.
