In what is becoming a recurring theme, a UFC preliminary card fight has been called off on either the day of the weigh-ins or fight night itself. Welterweight veteran T.J. Waldburger was scheduled to fight Wendel Oliveira on Sunday’s UFC Fight Night: Bigfoot vs. Mir card in Porto Alegre, Brazil, but according to a report from MMA Junkie, Waldburger fell ill while cutting weight and the bout had to be cancelled. A Globo article also revealed that Waldburger fainted in the sauna. Both fighter will be paid their show money.
This is the 3rd straight UFC event to have a last-minute cancellation. At UFC 183, featherweight Jimy Hettes was hospitalized after he felt ill just before his scheduled fight against Diego Brandao. Two weeks later at UFC Fight Night: Henderson vs. Thatch, Nik Lentz pulled out of a match-up with Levan Makashvili, with doctors citing flu-like symptoms.
Waldburger vs. Oliveira was scheduled to be on the Fox Sports 1 portion of Sunday’s preliminary card. While not confirmed by the UFC, the bout order suggests that Douglas Silva vs. Cody Gibson will likely be moved from the Fight Pass broadcast to FS1.
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