Sanchez out of fight with Cerrone, UFC seeking replacement

Diego Sanchez before fighting Michael Chiesa at UFC 239 in 2019 | Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC

UFC Vegas 26 has taken another hit as Diego Sanchez is out of his fight with Donald Cerrone. Diego Sanchez has be…


Diego Sanchez before fighting Michael Chiesa at UFC 239 in 2019
Diego Sanchez before fighting Michael Chiesa at UFC 239 in 2019 | Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC

UFC Vegas 26 has taken another hit as Diego Sanchez is out of his fight with Donald Cerrone.

Diego Sanchez has been forced to withdraw from his upcoming fight against Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone at UFC Vegas 26.

Carlos Contreras Legaspi first revealed the news on Twitter. Details regarding Sanchez’s withdrawal have not yet been announced, and the UFC is yet to make an official announcement.

Cerrone (36-15, 2NC) last fought to a majority draw with Niko Price at UFC Vegas 11. ‘‘Cowboy’ hasn’t won a fight since defeating lightweight contender Al Iaquinta in May 2019.

Sanchez (30-13) was hoping to get back in the win column against Cerrone after losing his last fight in one-sided fashion to Australian welterweight Jake Matthews at UFC 253.

The cancellation of Sanchez vs. Cerrone is not the only hit UFC Vegas 26 has taken in the past 24 hours. T.J. Dillashaw vs Cory Sandhagen, which was scheduled to be the main event, was scrapped after Dillashaw suffered a facial laceration in training.

UFC Vegas 26 is now expected to be headlined by a strawweight fight between Michelle Waterson and Michelle Rodriguez.