UFC 223 has lost two more bouts.
Michael Chiesa vs. Anthony Pettis and Ray Borg vs. Brandon Moreno have both been pulled from Saturday’s UFC 223 main card.
MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani reported the Chiesa-Pettis cancellation Thursday night. Helwani said the fight is off due to the cuts Chiesa suffered on his face Thursday afternoon in a bus attack led by UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor.
ESPN’s Brett Okamoto first reported the Borg-Moreno news. Borg was taken to a local hospital in Brooklyn, New York on Thursday evening due to complications with his vision. Per Combate, a shard of glass entered Borg’s right eye on the UFC bus and he was having difficulties opening it as of Thursday night. Helwani reported earlier that Borg was sitting next to Chiesa on the bus but did not suffer any facial cuts like “Maverick.”
On Thursday afternoon, McGregor made a surprise appearance at Barclays Center directly following UFC 223 media day. The Irish superstar was with a group of friends and proceeded to throw various objects at a bus that was beginning to take fighters back to the host hotel following media obligations. McGregor smashed the bus’ front window with a trolley.
Chiesa was transported to a local hospital after the incident. Initially, it was reported that he intended on still competing at UFC 223.
Chiesa is coming off a first-round submission loss to Kevin Lee last June. Pettis was looking to bounce back, as well; he last fell to Dustin Poirier via TKO last November.
Borg fought for the UFC flyweight title at UFC 216 against longtime champion Demetrious Johnson late last year. He suffered a fifth-round submission defeat, snapping a two-fight winning streak.
Moreno was 3-0 in the UFC heading into the first UFC main event last summer against Sergio Pettis, but the TUF 24 alum lost a decision.
UFC 223 will (for now) proceed with 10 bouts. In the main event, Khabib Nurmagomedov faces Max Holloway for the UFC lightweight title, currently held by McGregor.
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