UFC 233’s cancellation means several fights need new homes, and thus far a few of them have already been booked for other events.
The UFC announced on Wednesday that they were cancelling UFC 233, originally set for January 26th in Anaheim, California. With no suitable main event able to replace Henry Cejudo vs. T.J. Dillashaw, they pulled the plug on the card.
Every booked fight is expected to be rescheduled, and four of them have quickly found a new home.
A flyweight bout between Joseph Benavidez and Deiveson Figueiredo will now be part of UFC Brooklyn on January 19th, which is headlined by Cejudo vs. Dillashaw. ESPN’s Brett Okamoto was first to report that. This will presumably be the backup plan in case something happens to either of the headliners.
Ariel Helwani then reported strawweights Cortney Casey and Cynthia Calvillo would be moved to the UFC on ESPN show in Phoenix on February 17th. Casey is from Arizona so it’s a virtual home fight for her.
MMAjunkie added on Wednesday that women’s bantamweights Yana Kunitskaya and Marion Reneau are expected to be on a UFC on ESPN+ show on March 9th, while middleweights Markus Perez and Anthony Hernandez are targeted for UFC on ESPN+ in Fortaleza, Brazil on February 2nd.
The remaining fights to be moved are:
Ben Askren vs. Robbie Lawler (reportedly could move to UFC 235 on March 2nd)
Paul Felder vs. James Vick
Alexandra Albu vs. Emily Whitmire
Alex Caceres vs. Kron Gracie
John Lineker vs. TBA
Francisco Trinaldo vs. TBA