The flyweight showdown between Askar Askarov and Brandon Royval has been pulled from the UFC Vegas 62 main card lineup on ESPN+, scheduled for this Sat. night (Oct. 15, 2022) inside APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, thanks to a botched weight cut from the Russian “Bullet.”
“Woke up at 127 (pounds) before I started the weight cut, I heard my opponent is not going to make weight,” opponent Brandon Royval wrote on Twitter. “They turned down a catch weight, so it looks like the fight is off. Heartbroken but thank you Tyler Minton Nutrition for another easy weight cut. We stay professional on our end.”
No word yet from the promotion on whether or not the fight will be rebooked for an upcoming card or scrapped altogether but it should be noted both combatants are ranked in the Top 5, making this a very important contest for the flyweight division.
As of this writing, Askarov has yet to comment on his weight management issues.