The UFC was prepared in the event of changes to the UFC on ESPN+ 31 card and those changes came in droves.
Tomorrow night (July 31), UFC on ESPN+ 31 will take place inside the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada. In the main event, middleweights Edmen Shahbazyan and Derek Brunson will collide. The co-main event will see women’s flyweight action as Joanne Calderwood and Jennifer Maia are set to clash.
Three Fighters Yanked From UFC on ESPN+ 31 Card
The UFC had to scramble to find replacements just before the UFC on ESPN+ 31 weigh-ins. That’s because three fighters were forced out of this weekend’s event. MMAJunkie confirmed that Timur Valiev has been replaced by Vincent Cachero to face Jamall Emmers. This was supposed to be Valiev’s UFC debut.
Farah Hannoun of MMAJunkie then reported that Charles Ontiveros is on tap to replace Eric Spicely. Ontiveros will be fighting Markus Perez. Spicely issued a statement on his removal from the card and it’s quite worrisome.
“For the sake of transparency this was my first weight cut since starting antidepressants due to the head trauma I sustained in the Deron Winn fight. Needless to say it went horribly wrong and my fight is off. I will figure this problem out and hopefully be able to compete again.”
Finally, Ray Borg is also off the UFC on ESPN+ 31 card for undisclosed reasons. MMAJunkie reported that Nate Maness will now be facing Johnny Munoz.
MMA News will be providing live coverage of UFC on ESPN+ 31 on Saturday night. Join us for live results, highlights, and post-fight tidbits.
