UFC Vegas 19 lost two bouts on Saturday, one of them after one opponent had already walked to the Octagon and was awaiting his opponent.
COVID-19 has forced the cancellation of numerous bouts since it spread across the globe. It made a casualty of another bout on Saturday, forcing the preliminary bout between Drakkar Klose and Luis Pena to get nixed just hours before their fight was to take place.
UFC officials announced the cancellation, offering no details. Pena posted on social media that one of Klose’s cornerman unfortunately tested positive.
“I hate this man, but it’s with a heavy heart that I must inform you guys that the fight has been called off,” Pena wrote.
UFC heavyweight contenders Curtis Blaydes, ranked No. 2 in the division, and Derrick Lewis, who sits at No. 4, square off in Saturday night’s main event in Las Vegas. Listen in as Jim “Gries” Grieshaber and Jeff Cain host the UFC Vegas 19 Preview Show, where they break down the fight that’s about to go down in Sin City.
The winner is hoping to etch his name in the heavyweight title talks, which are bustling with chatter.
UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic is slated to next defend his belt against No. 1 contender Francis Ngannou. The winner is likely to square off with former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, who is planning a move to the heavyweight division with an immediate title shot in the offing.
The match-up slated to take place Saturday at UFC Vegas 19 between number two ranked heavyweight Curtis Blaydes and number four ranked heavyweight Derrick Lewis has been brewing for some time. In fact, both fighters were calling for bouts against one another immediately after Lewis’s last fight, a victory over Aleksei Oleinik. In the post-fight press conference from that card in August 2020, Lewis claimed he could take Blaydes down and punish him on the ground. Speaking with MMAWeekly.com at the UFC Vegas 19 virtual media day, Blaydes said he chuckles at that idea. “I think he was just saying […]