Flyweight contender Ray Borg will be unable to fight Joseph Benavidez at UFC Denver this Saturday.
It’s been a difficult 2018 for former UFC flyweight title challenger Ray Borg, and now there’s a real chance he’ll go the entire year without competing inside the Octagon.
MMAjunkie confirmed on Wednesday that Borg is out of his UFC Denver showdown against Joseph Benavidez, due to undisclosed “medical issues.” Benavidez will not have a replacement opponent, so he’ll be removed from the main card, and the bout order will be reshuffled.
Borg (11-3) has not fought since losing by armbar to then-champion Demetrious Johnson at UFC 216. This year, he was pulled from a UFC 223 matchup with Brandon Moreno due to Conor McGregor’s bus attack leaving small bits of glass shards in his eye. When the bout was rescheduled for UFC Chile in May, Borg withdrew to take care of his young son, who was hospitalized and needed emergency brain surgery.
Benavidez (25-5) is coming off a split decision loss to Sergio Pettis, which marked his return to the Octagon after missing all of 2017 due to injury. Given the likely closure of the flyweight division, even if he does get rebooked, it’s no guarantee that it’ll be at 125.
UFC Denver is headlined by a featherweight clash between Chan Sung Jung, aka “The Korean Zombie,” and Yair Rodriguez. The night’s main card airs live on FS1 at 10 PM ET/7 PM PT.