Alejandro Perez out of Thomas Almeida fight at UFC on ESPN+ 37
Thomas Almeida needs a new opponent for his long-awaited return to the octagon at UFC on ESPN+ 37.
Thomas Almeida needs a new opponent for his long-awaited return to the octagon this month at UFC on ESPN+ 37.
Alejandro Perez (21-8-1 MMA, 7-3-1 UFC), who was scheduled to face Almeida (21-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC) in a bantamweight bout on the Oct. 10 card, which takes place at Flash Forum at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, has been forced out due to a reported positive coronavirus test.
MMA Junkie verified news of Perez’s removal from the matchup with a person close to the situation following an initial report from Milenio.com.
The promotion now seeks a new opponent for Almeida, who hasn’t competed since a TKO loss to Rob Font at UFC 220 in January 2018. The Brazilian, who was once unbeaten at 20-0, hasn’t won since November 2016.
The latest UFC on ESPN+ 37 lineup now includes:
Marlon Moraes vs. Cory Sandhagen Edson Barboza vs. Makwan Amirkhani Ben Rothwell vs. Marcin Tybura Dricus Du Plessis vs. Markus Perez Tom Aspinall vs. Alan Baudot Thomas Almeida vs. opponent TBA Ilia Topuria vs. Youssef Zalal K.B. Bhullar vs. Tom Breese Chris Daukaus vs. Rodrigo Nascimento Joaquin Buckley vs. Impa Kasanganay Ali Alqaisi vs. Tony Kelley Giga Chikadze vs. Omar Morales Tracy Cortez vs. Stephanie Egger Bruno Silva vs. Tagir Ulanbekov