Photo by Christian Petersen/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC
UFC Montevideo suffered some losses just weeks before the event, with Alexey Kunchenko, Rafael Fiziev and Rachael Ostovich all being forced out of the card.
UFC Montevideo has been hit full force by the injury bug, with four more fighters forced from the card—just under two weeks out from the event. Ashlee Evans-Smith was the first to fall, back in early July, withdrawing from her planned bout with Taila Santos.
Now it’s Santos who has been forced off the card, with Super Lutas reporting that a wrist injury has seen her out of a bout against Ariane Carnelossi—who replaced Evans-Smith. It’s unknown at the moment whether Carnelossi will remain on the card against a new opponent or be rebooked at a later date.
Additionally, on Monday the UFC has announced another female flyweight, Rachael Ostovich, has been scratched from her fight against Veronica Macedo and replaced by Polyana Viana (10-3). Currently on a two-fight losing skid, this may be Viana’s last chance to score another win in the Octagon or end up released from the promotion. The flyweight bout will mark her first fight outside the strawweight division since defeating Giselle Campos at Maraba Combat 1 back in 2015.
And Combate reports that welterweight Argentinian prospect Laureano Staropoli has broken his nose forcing him out of his bout against Alexey Kunchenko. A replacement for Staropoli has not yet been found.
Lastly, lightweight Rafael Fiziev also withdrew from his bout against Alex da Silva, and was replaced by UFC newcomer Rodrigo Vargas, per Combate’s report. Vargas (10-2) will try to make it three in a row when he meets Alex da Silva in Uruguay. The 33-year-old out of Mexcio is riding a 2-fight win streak into the Octagon. His last loss came in January 2017, when he dropped a split decision to Marco Antonio Elpidio.
UFC Fight Night 156 is scheduled to take place in Montevideo, Uruguay, on August 10. The card is expected to be headlined by a female flyweight title fight between champion, Valentina Shevchenko, and former bantamweight title challenger Liz Carmouche.