On February 21, the UFC will bring some violent entertainment to the crowd in Houston. Marking their 10th visit, and first since UFC 271 in 2022, the promotion announced a solid card headlined by Sean Strickland vs Anthony Hernandez in a high-stakes middleweight matchup. But as great as the card is, it’s experiencing some hiccups already. With just a little over 10 days left now, a main card fight has reportedly fallen.

Last month, the Houston card lost a fight from the prelims after former UFC fighter Paige VanZant’s husband, Austin Vanderford, saw his bout against Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani fizzle out for undisclosed reasons. To save the fight, Phil Rowe ended up replacing him. However, now the Houston Fight Night event has received another shocker, as the 170 lbs fight between Jacobe Smith and Seok Hyeon Ko may be on the verge of a cancellation. The reason? The South Korean fighter has reportedly suffered a rib injury.

UFC Houston: a major main card fight collapsed 

“After hearing rumors of Jacobe Smith vs Seok Hyeon Ko at UFC Houston on February 21 being in jeopardy, I have confirmed from sources that Seok Hyeon Ko has a rib injury and is out of the fight,” MMA content creator Kevin K posted on X. However, it must be stated that nothing has been confirmed as of yet by the UFC or Seok Hyeon Ko’s team directly. But all things point to the fight being off for good at the moment.

If it turns out to be true, this would mark the second cancellation in his UFC career for the South Korean, as his fight against Billy Ray Goff also fell through last year due to issues with Ko’s visa.

At the moment, Smith holds an 11-0 undefeated record and has fought twice in the UFC. Ko, meanwhile, holds a 13-2 record and is an undeniable talent with two fights in the UFC as well. The fight was among the most sought-after bouts of the night, a promising barn burner. That said, the promotion will reveal in time whether a replacement steps in or the UFC cancels the fight entirely.

With more details yet to come, the UFC Houston card isn’t the only one undergoing changes. The upcoming event in Mexico is also taking a different shape from what the promotion originally announced.

Big surprises shake up the Mexico card

The UFC’s Houston Fight Night is definitely going through some changes, sure. But the main attraction, Sean Strickland vs ‘Fluffy’ Hernandez, remains intact. The same cannot be said for the Arena CDMX headliner. Before the Mexico City event on February 28, the promotion took a big hit when Brandon Moreno’s opponent, Asu Almabayev, pulled out due to an injury.

The promotion shifted a young and hungry contender, Lone’er Kavanaugh, from his fight against Bruno Silva on March 14 directly into the main event to replace the Kazakh. That solved the headliner piece, but not the entire puzzle. The promotion still faced the mystery of who would face the Brazilian 125er until a veteran stepped up on short notice to fill the gap.

A 35-year-old Charles Johnson, who has already beaten main event fighter Kavanaugh, received the UFC’s call and will now face Silva in a high-altitude, short-notice matchup at the Meta Apex. Fans are definitely happy with that decision, but one question still remains. Why didn’t Johnson step in to fight the former champ in the main event? With his fan following and fighting style, that matchup would have been interesting. Hopefully, we’ll know the reason soon.

That said, what do you think about these fight night events going through major changes just before the show? Let us know in the comments section below.