An illness has scratched one of UFC 235’s preliminary card bouts.
Saturday’s pay-per-view card at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas is down to 12 bouts after Marlon Vera (14-5-1 MMA, 6-4 UFC) was scratched by the promotion.
The UFC announced the change today on its official website.
Vera was set to face veteran Frankie Saenz (13-5 MMA, 5-3 UFC), who stepped in as a replacement after slugger Thomas Almeida (21-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC) was scratched from the card due to a pending surgery. Due to the short notice, the promotion won’t be able to find a replacement.
It’s a disappointing turn for Vera, who’s won his past two bouts including a second-round submission of Guido Cannetti this past November at UFC Fight Night 140.
Saenz also is on the upswing with two recent wins, most recently a unanimous decision over Henry Briones at UFC Fight Night 129. The successes were much needed after a trio of losses that jeopardized his octagon career.
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)
- Champ Jon Jones vs. Anthony Smith – for light heavyweight title
- Champ Tyron Woodley vs. Kamaru Usman – for welterweight title
- Ben Askren vs. Robbie Lawler
- Tecia Torres vs. Weili Zhang
- Cody Garbrandt vs. Pedro Munhoz
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN, 8 p.m. ET)
- Zabit Magomedsharipov vs. Jeremy Stephens
- Misha Cirkunov vs. Ovince Saint Preux
- Alejandro Perez vs. Song Yadong
- Mickey Gall vs. Diego Sanchez
PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC Fight Pass, 6:30 p.m. ET)
- Charles Byrd vs. Edmen Shahbazyan
- Macy Chiasson vs. Gina Mazany
- Hannah Cifers vs. Polyana Viana
For more on UFC 235, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.
