UFC Vegas 33 has new co-main event following rash of last-minute scratches

This Saturday’s UFC Vegas 33 card has a new co-main event following a rash of last-minute scratches that led to three fights being canceled.

The world’s leading MMA promotion’s next event takes place this Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, with top-15 ranked middleweights Sean Strickland and Uriah Hall in the headliner. Both Strickland and Hall are currently riding four-fight win streaks and the winner of this fight seems poised to fight someone in the upper echelon of the division. Fortunately, Strickland vs. Hall has not been affected and the fight will go on as planned.

However, three other fights that were set to take place at UFC Vegas 33 have been canceled. The original co-main event for the card featured heavyweights Chris Daukaus and Shamil Abdurakhimov, but that fight fell off the card at the last minute. The UFC has already announced that fight has been rescheduled and will take place at UFC 266 in September, meaning both fighters will have to wait two more months for their fight.

With Daukaus vs. Abdurakhimov off the card, middleweights Sam Alvey and Roman Kopylov were expected to feature in the co-headliner, but that fight was scratched when Kopylov ran into visa issues earlier this week entering the UFC. That fight was also canceled and Alvey was immediately re-booked to fight Wellington Turman in August.

With both of the original UFC Vegas 33 co-main events off the card, welterweights Mounir Lazzez and Niklas Stoltze were elevated to the co-main event. However, that fight was also canceled when Lazzez ran into visa issues as well. Fortunately, the UFC was able to get Jared Gooden to step up on short notice to fight Stoltze, who will stay on the card. Bantamweights Rani Yahya and Kyung Ho Kang were now elevated to the co-headliner.

What do you think about the UFC Vegas 33 card this weekend?