UFC 280 fight cancelled at the last minute

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Khabib will coach one less fighter at UFC 280. UFC 280 will have one less bout on its fight card.
Just moments before the early and official weigh ins in Abu Dha…


UFC 242: Tukhugov v Murphy
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Khabib will coach one less fighter at UFC 280.

UFC 280 will have one less bout on its fight card.

Just moments before the early and official weigh ins in Abu Dhabi, the UFC announced that the featherweight bout between Zubaira Tukhugov and Lucas Almeida has been cancelled due to “weight management issues.”

The weight issue is reportedly on Tukhugov’s side, who previously missed weight in a 2020 bout as well. Tukhugov is a teammate of headliner Islam Makhachev, and the cancellation means the former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov will be cornering one less fighter at UFC 280.

The bout was supposed to happen in the prelim portion of the event, which now drops the total fights at UFC 280 to 12.

One other fighter missed weight on the UFC 280 line up, but the bout will push through as scheduled.

The final fight card for UFC 280 is as follows:

Main card (4 p.m. on ESPN)

Lightweight championship: Charles Oliveira vs. Islam Makhachev

Bantamweight championship: Aljamain Sterling vs. T.J. Dillashaw

Petr Yan vs. Sean O’Malley

Beneil Dariush vs. Mateusz Gamrot

Katlyn Chookagian vs. Manon Fiorot

Prelim card (11 a.m. on ESPN+)

Belal Muhammad vs. Sean Brady

Makhmud Muradov vs. Caio Borralho

Volkan Oezdemir vs. Nikita Krylov

Abubakar Nurmagomedov vs. Gadzhi Omargadzhiev

Armen Petrosyan vs. AJ Dobson

Malcolm Gordon vs. Muhammad Mokaev

Karol Rosa vs. Lina Lansberg