Home

UFC

4 Fights Cancelled by UFC at UFC Fight Night: Kevin Holland vs Derek Brunson

Published 03/20/2021, 3:03 PM EDT

Follow Us

via Getty

UFC Heavyweight Don’Tale Mayes is out of his fight against Tai Tuivasa scheduled for UFC Fight Night: Kevin Holland vs. Derek Brunson. He picked up an injury and will now be replaced by Harry Hunsucker, who will make his UFC debut, having finished all of his 7 wins by 1st-round stoppage, including 6 in under a minute and a half.

However, that wasn’t the only fight that got canceled, as 3 other bouts had to be shelved or postponed. An additional 3 fights have been canceled, too, the UFC announced.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

UFC put out a notice on their official website saying, “Additionally, due to visa issues, the bantamweight bout between Johnny Eduardo and Anthony Birchak has been canceled.

Due to COVID-19 protocols, the lightweight bout between Gregor Gillespie and Brad Riddell has been postponed to a later date,” they said.

However, most notably, the fight between Julija Stoliarenko and Julia Avila got canceled after Julija lost consciousness during the weight cut. She collapsed twice and couldn’t go through with the fight. She had to leave on a stretcher in a highly alarming turn of events.

Julija Stoliarenko collapses on the scales at UFC Fight Night: Kevin Holland vs. Derek Brunson

She was transported to a hospital, and while we didn’t get an official update from the UFC, the Lithuanian kept the fans posted via her Instagram. She posted a video on Instagram explaining the entire situation.

Julija said that her weight cut was successful, but she lost her weight too quickly. She was ready for the Bantamweight cut and had cut down all the weight 4 hours earlier than the scheduled weigh-ins.

Trending

Get instantly notified of the hottest UFC stories via Google! Click on Follow Us and Tap the Blue Star.

Follow Us

The problems arose during those 4 hours as she couldn’t eat or drink anything and had to stay dehydrated, explaining her collapse on the scales.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

She apologized to her opponent and said that she understood the UFC’s decision, but she wanted to fight and felt ready. Julija assured everyone that she was fine and reiterated that she was healthy multiple times.

These cancelations are an incredible loss for the event, but the UFC surely made the right decisions and kept their fighters’ safety as their priority. Nevertheless, it’s going to be an entertaining event, so keep an eye out for all the fights.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Do you think the UFC needs to introduce some changes in their weight-cutting rules?

THROWBACK: When Conor McGregor Sparked Controversy By Meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :

Written by:

Aniket Awasthi

947Articles

One take at a time

Aniket Awasthi is a UFC author at EssentiallySports. This STEM undergraduate combines an insatiable urge to write with his admiration for MMA and the UFC in general to enhance his journalism. He calls charismatic names like Chael Sonnen and 'The Count' Michael Bisping as his favorite fighters, but he is a great admirer of the rise of Israel Adesanya ever since he fought Rob Wilkinson at UFC 221.
Show More>