The ever-changing UFC Vegas 46 lineup just took another hit. This time around, the scheduled co-main event between Michel Pereira and Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) newcomer, Andre Fialho, will no longer take place on the ESPN+-streamed card.
According to MMA Fighting, the fight will be shifted over to UFC 270 on Jan. 22, 2022, which will be the promotion’s first pay-per-view (PPV) event of the year. Per the report, the move was due to COVID-19 protocols after one of Pereira’s training partners tested positive for the virus.
That is now the third fight the event has lost.
If you recall, Pereira was originally lined up to face Muslim Salikhov at UFC Vegas 46. But after Salikhov withdrew from the Welterweight bout for undisclosed reasons, Fialho agreed to make his UFC debut on short notice against the dancing wild man.
Also, MMA Fighting is reporting that Saidyokub Kakhramonov has been forced out of his fight against Brian Kelleher. As a result, Kevin Croom will step in on short notice to take the Bantamweight fight.
UFC 270 currently features a Heavyweight title unification bout between division king, Francis Ngannou, and interim titleholder, Ciryl Gane. In the co-headlining act, Brandon Moreno will put his Flyweight title on the line against Deiveson Figueiredo in what will be the third straight title fight between them.
As for UFC Vegas 46, that will be headlined by a featherweight bout between Calvin Kattar and Giga Chikadze. Speaking of which, UFC officials might want to keep both of them locked in their room until weigh-in day.
To see the UFC Vegas 46 and UFC 270 fight cards click here and here.
