UFC 256 has witnessed yet another title fight cancellation, as Petr Yan will not be defending the UFC Bantamweight Championship against Aljamain Sterling. RTSportNews reported that the fight was scrapped due to visa issues for Yan.

This is yet another cancelation on the UFC 256 card. Amanda Nunes had to pull out of her title fight against Megan Anderson, and now Yan is off. Prior to that, UFC Welterweight Champion Kamaru Usman had to pull out of the card.

However, the fight slated to take place between Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno for the UFC Flyweight Championship remains intact, for now. Keeping the recent developments in mind, chances are that this showdown will be touted as the headliner for UFC 256.

The UFC Bantamweight division has been one of the most competitive divisions in the promotion for quite some time. The fact that this move will inevitably delay the logjam at the top will be quite inconvenient. However, Aljo is the rightful contender and should wait for the Yan fight to materialize somewhere down the line.

UFC 256: Can the card be saved?

The UFC 256 card does have a deep roster, even though it may be thin at the top. Three title fight cancellations seem unprecedented for a card.

There would have been nothing to stop the UFC from scrapping the card altogether if this had happened to any other event. However, Figueiredo joining the card may have saved it. What’s more, you have Tony Ferguson’s return to the Octagon against Charles Oliveira.

UFC Middleweight contenders Jacare Souza and Marvin Vettori will also face off. Featherweight legend Cub Swanson will also be on the fight lineup against Daniel Pineda. There are quite a lot of exciting bouts on this card beyond the highly awaited Bantamweight title clash.