While the UFC races to put on exciting, crowd-pleasing fights, fighter injuries continue to threaten that ambition, forcing the promotion into a frantic search for suitable replacements. Recent developments surrounding UFC Vegas 123 and the marquee UFC 334 are putting the UFC’s matchmakers to the test, as reports indicate multiple fighters have withdrawn from bouts scheduled for the two events.

“Earlier today, Gastón Bolaños announced that he suffered a cut on his eyebrow during training and that he can’t compete on October 31 against Francis Marshall anymore,” the report on Heavy read. “The UFC has found a replacement for the Peruvian fighter. Dakota Hope steps in to take on Marshall at UFC Vegas 123 in the featherweight division.”

While several outlets now list Hope as Bolanos’ replacement, the UFC’s official website still lists Bolanos for the opening bout on the card at Meta APEX.

Since joining the UFC in April 2023, Lima-born Bolanos has had several fights cancelled. Those cancellations largely stemmed from issues involving his opponent. Early this year, on March 7, he was booked to face Jeong Yong Lee on UFC 326: Holloway vs. Oliveira 2. However, the fight was cancelled after the Korean failed to make the required weight.

The episode followed a withdrawal from Joo Sang Yoo, who was initially scheduled to face Bolanos. Yoo had pulled out after suffering a foot injury.

Bolanos’ only previous withdrawal came in 2023. A few months after making his UFC debut, the Peruvian fighter was booked to face Marcus McGhee on August 12, 2023. However, ahead of the bout, Bolanos pulled out for undisclosed reasons. As in the latest case, another fighter stepped in to replace him.

Bolanos subsequently faced McGhee on January 13, 2024, losing the bout via a second-round TKO.

While the UFC’s matchmakers managed to address the situation, another problem emerged ahead of the UFC 334 card, scheduled to take place on November 14 at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

Reports now indicate that the fight between Nazim Sadykhov and Jefferson Nascimento has been cancelled. The bout, scheduled for a card headlined by the title fight between Ciryl Gane and Josh Hokit, suffered its first setback when Nascimento withdrew with an injury.

Sadykhov later withdrew as well after sustaining an injury during training. He had reportedly asked the UFC not to find a replacement after news of Nascimento’s withdrawal emerged.

Separately, reports indicated that undefeated middleweight Baisangur Susurkaev had withdrawn from his scheduled fight against Donte Johnson for undisclosed reasons. Cesar Almeida was subsequently reported as his replacement, although updates suggest that bout agreements were still pending.

While this marks the first that Nascimento has pulled out of a fight, it is the second time Sadykhov has withdrawn from an event. On April 11, 2026, Sadykhov was booked to face MarQuel Mederos on the card headlined by Carlos Ulberg and Jiří Procházka.

However, as he did in the latest case, in late March, Sadykhov took to social media to reveal that he had suffered an injury during training. No prior withdrawals have been reported for Susurkaev.

The concern, then, is that barring Susurkaev, these withdrawals could hurt the careers of Bolanos, Nascimento, and Sadykhov.

UFC Fight cancellations put fighters’ career momentum at risk

Bolanos won his last bout on June 20, 2026, at a Fight Night event. However, he has also suffered two losses, to Quang Lee and McGhee, amid a string of cancelled bouts. At 34, he remains unranked in the featherweight division, and the latest withdrawal could delay his progress.

Similarly, both Nascimento and Sadykhov are coming off loses. The Madison Square Garden card represented a significant opportunity, particularly for Nascimento, who suffered a stoppage loss to Tahir Abdullayev at a Fight Night event on June 27, 2026. Nascimento is a former LFA interim lightweight champion.

Sadykhov has struggled as well. Since winning the Fight of the Night honor against Nikolas Motta on June 21, 2025, he has suffered back-to-back losses, both ending inside the distance.

The UFC has had to find replacements for several cards after fighters withdrew for various reasons.

Last weekend, the promotion organized the UFC 332 at Salt Lake City’s Delta Center. Initial reports indicated that flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko would headline the event with a title defense against Natalia Silva. However, an injury forced her to withdraw.

Shevchenko’s withdrawal disrupted the event’s original plans. In a separate development, Cong Wang faced Silva but lost the bout by a decision.

Earlier, an official announcement from the UFC confirmed that Ethyn Ewing withdrew from UFC 329, headlined by Conor McGregor-Max Holloway, due to injury. Newcomer John Garza replaced him against Farid Basharat.

Two weeks after the Las Vegas event, UFC Fight Night 282 in Abu Dhabi faced another late change when Muin Gafurov withdrew from his bout against Abdul Hussein due to injury. Cody Gibson stepped in to replace Gafurov but lost by third-round submission.

Because the latest withdrawals happened weeks before the events were scheduled to take place, the UFC had enough time to find the replacements. Whether more fighters withdraw before the events remains to be seen.