Former title challenger Bethe Correia will no longer be part of the UFC’s Jan. 16 card.
Bethe Correia’s planned retirement fight has been called off. As MMA Fighting reported on Tuesday, the former bantamweight title challenger withdrew from her scheduled January 16 fight against Wu Yanan due to appendix surgery.
In early September, the 37-year-old Correia announced on social media that her next fight against Wu would be her last. At the time, she was coming off a decision loss to Pannie Kianzad in July.
The two women were initially booked to face each other at UFC Vegas 16 on December 5, but the fight was postponed for unspecified reasons.
Wu (11-3) is currently 1-2 in the UFC. She hasn’t fought since August 2019, when she lost to Mizuki Inoue via split decision.
Correia (11-5-1) has been on a subpar run since her loss to Ronda Rousey in 2015. She’s compiled a record of 2-4-1, which includes a highlight reel head kick KO loss to Holly Holm in 2017.
UFC Fight Island 7 will be headlined by a featherweight fight between former champion Max Holloway and Calvin Kattar. It will air on ABC to mark the UFC’s return to network TV since 2018.