Whoa whoa whoa, you didn’t think we’d go that many UFC events without a last-minute major cancellation did you?
UFC Stockholm has just lost its co-main event.
The UFC announced on Thursday in a statement that popular Swedish light heavyweight Ilir Latifi has suffered an injury that will render him unable to compete against ex-title challenger Volkan Oezdemir.
“Due to a back injury, Ilir Latifi has been forced to withdraw from his Saturday UFC Fight Night bout against Volkan Oezdemir,” the statement read.
“The bout will not be replaced, and the card at Stockholm’s Ericsson Globe will proceed with 12 bouts.”
Latifi hasn’t fought since a decision loss to Corey Anderson at UFC 232. Oezdemir is in must-win territory given he’s lost three straight, including a close defeat to Dominick Reyes in March. Evidently he’ll have to wait a little bit longer for the opportunity to get back in the win column.
Presumably Aleksandar Rakic vs. Jimi Manuwa will be bumped to co-main event status. The main event — at least we hope that’s still the case unless something crazy happens from now until Saturday — is a light heavyweight tilt between former title challengers Alexander Gustafsson and Anthony Smith.