A middleweight match-up between Marvin Vettori and Karl Roberson was supposed to open up tonight’s main card at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida. According to Ariel Helwani, that fight has now been pulled from the bill with Roberson becoming unwell after enduring a tough weight cut.
“Tonight’s Karl Roberson vs. Marvin Vettori fight is off, per multiple sources,” Helwani wrote on Twitter. “Roberson fell ill after a tough weight cut. Non-COVID related. More shortly.”
Roberson was the only fighter to miss weight ahead of tonight’s card. The 29-year-old came in 1.5lbs over the middleweight limit of 186lbs. He was fined 20% of his purse which was awarded to Vettori. The fight was due to go ahead at a catchweight of 187.5lbs.
‘Baby K’ has enjoyed some good form since dropping down in weight. He has beaten Wellington Turman and Roman Kopylov in successive fights. Roberson last lost against Glover Teixeira who coincidentally headlines tonight’s event alongside top light-heavyweight contender Anthony Smith. Vettori is in good form himself. The Italian has won two straight since losing against middleweight champion Israel Adesanya in 2018. He’s riding back-to-back wins over Cezar Ferreira and Andrew Sanchez. Vettori was originally expected to fight Darren Stewart at UFC London in March. The bout was scrapped and today’s news means the Italian will probably have to wait a little longer to fight.
Check Out The Amended UFC Jacksonville Card Below…
Anthony Smith vs. Glover Teixeira
Ben Rothwell vs. Ovince Saint Preux
Drew Dober vs. Alexander Hernandez
Ray Borg vs. Ricky Simon
Karl Roberson vs. Marvin Vettori
Andrei Arlovski vs. Philipe Lins
Michael Johnson vs. Thiago Moises
Sijara Eubanks vs. Sarah Moras
Hunter Azure vs. Brian Kelleher
Chase Sherman vs. Ike Villanueva
Gabriel Benitez vs. Omar Morales
Are you disappointed to see Marvin Vettori vs. Karl Roberson is off the UFC Jacksonville card?