The UFC has made several changes official ahead of its next card.
Julio Arce and Andre Ewell have been removed from UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Las Vegas because of COVID-19 protocols, the UFC announced Tuesday. In addition, Alex Da Silva was pulled from his bout because of an injury. All three athletes will be replaced with short-notice fill-ins.
Martin Day will take the place of Arce and fight Timur Valiev. Originally a bantamweight bout, that fight will now take place at featherweight. With Ewell’s withdrawal, newcomer Askar Askar will take on Ewell’s planned opponent, Cody Stamann. That bout also will be contested at featherweight after initially being scheduled for bantamweight.
Justin Jaynes will step in for Da Silva and face Devonte Smith at a catchweight of 160 pounds.
The UFC made one other alteration to Saturday’s event: a featherweight fight between Ode Osbourne and Jerome Rivera has been added to the card.
UFC Fight Night is headlined by a heavyweight contender bout between MMA legend Alistair Overeem and Alexander Volkov. In the co-main event, former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar meets burgeoning bantamweight contender Cory Sandhagen in a bantamweight fight.