UFC Fight Night 50’s scheduled bout between featherweights Charles Oliveira and Nik Lentz has been canceled after doctors pulled Oliveira from the card, according to multiple reports.
Fox Sports’ Damon Martin tweeted the following Friday afternoon, confirming the news and clearing up the reason for the doctors’ actions.
UFC officials also confirmed the news in a statement (via MMAjunkie.com):
Tonight’s featherweight rematch between Charles Oliveira and Nik Lentz has been scrapped from the UFC Fight Night event after Oliveira was not cleared by doctors to compete.
Oliveira, who was getting over a viral infection he contracted in Brazil, had a relapse earlier this week and missed weight for the bout Thursday, coming in at 150 pounds. He did not attempt to weigh in again. This morning, the Brazilian fell ill, and after being seen by a doctor he was pulled from the bout. The UFC Fight Night event at Foxwoods…will proceed as scheduled with nine bouts.
As the statement mentions, Oliveira‘s removal comes after he missed weight for the bout, clocking in at 150 pounds, well over the 146-pound limit. Oliveira originally blamed the failed weight cut on a viral infection, and now it appears that same infection led to the bout being canceled altogether.
For fans of rematches, this news is unfortunate. Oliveira and Lentz previously battled at UFC Live 4: Kongo vs. Barry in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where the fight ended in a no-contest after Oliveira submitted Lentz early in Round 2. While there is seemingly no question about a definitive submission victory, it was later ruled that the submission was set up after Oliveira landed an illegal knee, dazing Lentz and directly leading to the finish.
Even worse, Lentz and Oilveira, ranked No. 8 and No. 14 in the division, respectively, each have some momentum in the division. Lentz most recently defeated Manny Gamburyan at UFC Fight Night: Brown vs. Silva via unanimous decision, while Oliveira won his last two fights via submission.
The winner of this contest would have taken a step up the featherweight ladder, clearing up a bit of the mess in the pool of fighters just out of title contention. Now, however, these plans will have to wait until further notice.
Oliveira vs. Lentz was originally scheduled to headline the preliminary card on Fox Sports 1, but now flyweights Justin Scoggins and John Moraga will take over those honors.
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