It’s never wise to count on seeing a fight take place until both men step in the cage. Especially not in today’s UFC where, as Tapology’s Steven Kelliher notes, any potential booked UFC bout has a 25% chance of being cancelled before fight night. The latest pair of combatants to fail to reach the Octagon comes just ahead of the August 31st UFC Shenzhen card, and a fight between Movsar Evloev and Zhenhong Lu.
Evloev shared the news that Lu suffered a cut while sparring after weigh-ins, and was not medically cleared to compete. (click the arrow on the right to see a pic of Lu’s injury)
Ironically, Lu himself was brought in as a late notice replacement for Mike Grundy, who was himself forced off the card due to injury. Lu and Evloev actually competed once before, back in 2015 (only the Russian’s second pro bout). Evloev won that fight by decision. 26-year-old Lu worked his way to the UFC via an 18-6 record, including an impressive 11-1 streak of recent strong performances. But it appears he’ll have to wait a bit longer, now, to make his debut in the world’s largest MMA organization.
In the meantime, UFC Shenzhen will move ahead with only 11 planned bouts. A welterweight fight between Kenan Song and Derrick Krantz has been moved to the main card to replace the lost featherweight bout.
Here’s a look at the UFC Shenzhen card as it stands now:
ESPN+ MAIN CARD | 6AM/3AM ET/PT
Jessica Andrade vs. Weili Zhang
Elizeu Zaleski vs. Li Jingliang
Kai Kara-France vs. Mark De La Rosa
Wu Yanan vs. Mizuki Inoue
Kenan Song vs. Derrick Krantz
ESPN PRELIMS | 3AM/12AM ET/PT
Anthony Hernandez vs. Jun Yong Park
Su Mudaerji vs. Andre Soukhamthath
Da Un Jung vs. Khadis Ibragimov
Damir Ismagulov vs. THiago Moises
Karol Rosa vs. Lara Procopio
Batgerel Danaa vs. Heili Alateng
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