UFC 308 loses bantamweight fight days before event
UFC 308 fight week began with one more fight than it has now.
The bantamweight bout between Said Nurmagomedov and Daniel Santos has been canceled, the promotion confirmed Wednesday. The card will continue with 13 bouts, which take place at Etihad Arena on Yas Island.
Santos (12-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) was "removed" from the bout according to the UFC, though no specific reason for the removal was cited. It's Santos' second-straight withdrawal.
Though he hasn't competed since June 2023, Santos currently rides a two-fight winning streak consisting of victories over John Castaneda and Johnny Munoz.
Nurmagomedov (18-3 MMA, 7-2 UFC) has not competed since October 2023 when he bounced back into the win column with a 73-second submission victory over Muin Gafurov.
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With the removal, the UFC 308 fight card includes:
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 2 p.m. ET)
Champ Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway – for featherweight title
Khamzat Chimaev vs. Robert Whittaker
Dan Ige vs. Lerone Murphy
Magomed Ankalaev vs. Aleksandar Rakic
Shara Magomedov vs. Armen Petrosyan
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 10 a.m. ET)
Rafael dos Anjos vs. Geoff Neal
Myktybek Orolbai vs. Mateusz Rebecki
Said Nurmagomedov vs. Daniel Santos
Brunno Ferreira vs. Abus Magomedov
Chris Barnett vs. Kennedy Nzechukwu
Farid Basharat vs. Victor Hugo
Rinat Fakhretdinov vs. Carlos Leal
Ibo Aslan vs. Raffael Cerqueira
Ismail Naurdiev vs. Bruno Silva
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie's event hub for UFC 308.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC 308 loses bantamweight fight days before event
