Another change to UFC 303’s former co-main event has pushed the bout to the point where it’s not even two men the same size fighting each other anymore.
The game of musical chairs atop UFC 303 continues as Carlos Ulberg has been forced out of his fight against Anthony Smith later this month (June 29, 2024) in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The biggest change to UFC 303 was the withdrawal of Conor McGregor, who will no longer fight Michael Chandler in the pay-per-view (PPV) main event because of an undisclosed injury. That fight will reportedly take place later this year when “The Notorious” recovers. Stepping in on two weeks notice is Light Heavyweight champion, Alex Pereira, who rematches Jiri Prochazka.
It was a “perfect storm.”
Now, the former co-main event fight between Ulberg vs. Smith is off as well. Australian mixed martial arts (MMA) insider, Benny P, was the first to announce the change, although right now we have no indication as to why Ulberg can’t compete. Reports have Roman Dolidze stepping in to face Smith, but nothing has been officially confirmed by UFC at the time of this writing.
Unfortunately per my sources Carlos Ulberg is out of his fight against Anthony Smith next week at UFC 303
— Benny P (@Bendaman2001) June 21, 2024
Dolidze is winless (0-2) over the past two years with decision losses to Marvin Vettori and Nassourdine Imavov. Smith, meanwhile, is 2-2 over the same time period, with his latest fight being a submission win over hyped young prospect, Vitor Petrino, at UFC 301.
The 205-pound matchup has gone through a wild number of changes since UFC 303 was announced. Initially, it was set to be a contender’s bout between former champion, Jamahal Hill, taking on Khalil Rountree. Then Rountree withdrew because of a failed drug test and was replaced by Ulberg, Hill injured his knee, and Ulberg was matched up with Smith.
Now, the No. 10-ranked Light Heavyweight (Smith) will reportedly fight Dolidze, who is ranked No. 10 at Middleweight.
Who knows the reason(s) UFC is suddenly being hit with such a devastating streak of injuries, but hopefully this is the last big change with just a week to go before the McGregor-less card (not Chandler, though). Fortunately, UFC already took action to shore up UFC 303’s lineup. When it announced “Pereira vs. Prochazka 2” as the new main event, it also added Brian Ortega vs. Diego Lopes as the new co-main event.
Let’s just hope nothing happens to either of those two Featherweight studs (or the main event) over the next eight days.
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