UFC Vegas 15 New Headliner: From three rounds to five rounds on 24 hours notice.
For the second time this year, Anthony Smith has gone from co-headliner to the main event. This time he’ll be going from three rounds to five rounds.
Following news that Curtis Blaydes tested positive for COVID-19 and thus won’t fight Derrick Lewis in Saturday’s UFC Vegas 15 main event, the UFC confirmed that Smith vs. Devin Clark will be the new main event.
In August, Zabit Magomedsharipov vs. Yair Rodriguez was nixed as the UFC Vegas 8 headliner, so Smith vs. Aleksandar Rakic was bumped to main event status but remained a three-rounder.
Clark told ESPN’s Brett Okamoto that he wanted to compete for a title, so this short notice five-round switcheroo is part of his plan. As for Smith, he’s doing it for the fans.
Here’s the new lineup for tomorrow night:
Main Card (ESPN/ESPN+, 10 PM ET)
Anthony Smith vs. Devin Clark
Miguel Baeza vs. Takashi Sato
Josh Parisian vs. Parker Porter
Spike Carlyle vs. Bill Algeo
Ashlee Evans-Smith vs. Norma Dumont
Kai Kamaka vs. Jonathan Pearce
Preliminary Card (ESPN+ at 8 PM ET)
Martin Day vs. Anderson dos Santos
Gina Mazany vs. Rachael Ostovich
Su Madaerji vs. Malcolm Gordon
Luke Sanders vs. Nathan Maness