Former UFC competitor Vinny Magalhaes will no longer compete against submission grappling superstar Gordon Ryan on Friday night.
Magalhaes was slated to appear at the Fight Pass Invitational 3 event streaming exclusively on UFC Fight Pass to compete in a submission grappling match with Ryan. With Magalhaes’ withdrawal from the contest, reportedly due to medical issues, Gordon Ryan’s former Danaher Death Squad teammate Nick Rodriguez will step into the main event spot.
“Unfortunately Vinny is out due to some medical issues,” Ryan said in a post on Instagram. “Hopefully he heals up. The replacement for him will be Nicky Rod versus myself in the headliner. That’s tomorrow night only on UFC Fight Pass at the Fight Pass Invitational.”
Nick Rodriguez Happy to Accept Short-Notice Match With Gordon Ryan
Nick Rodriguez was originally scheduled to compete in the absolute tournament, but with his promotion to the main event, Luke Griffith will take his spot.
“This morning the phone rings, I pick up, UFC calls me they’re like ‘Yo, Vinny Magalhaes pulls out, we need you to step in,’” Rodriguez said. “I tell them, ‘I’m the man. Let’s make it happen.’ So I pull out of the tournament, I hop in the super fight against Gordon Ryan, so now main event is Nicky Rod vs. Gordon Ryan. It’s gonna be epic.”
Gordon Ryan and Nick Rodriguez are no strangers to one another. The pair previously met in September at the ADCC Submission Fight World Championship with Ryan scoring a submission victory.