UFC Vegas 118 at the Meta Apex event on June 6 directly precedes the promotion’s ambitious UFC Freedom 250 card on June 14. As such, it’ll serve as the lead-up to UFC’s most prestigious project in recent memory. Unfortunately for them, things are off to a rough start. A stellar bout on the Fight Night card has reportedly fallen apart after one fighter was forced to withdraw due to a serious injury.

On the main card, the UFC had booked a standout bantamweight bout between Bryce Mitchell and Victor Henry. The matchup was definitely an exciting addition to the card headlined by Belal Muhammad and Gabriel Bonfim in a welterweight bout. But ahead of the bout, Henry has reportedly pulled out of the fight due to an injury he suffered in camp.

“FIGHT UPDATE – Victor Henry is OUT of his UFC Vegas 118 June 6th against Bryce Mitchell,” Kevin K shared on X.

“Victor Henry has suffered an injury, forcing him OUT of his UFC Bantamweight fight in June,” the UFC insider shared on his Instagram.

While the exact nature of his injury has not been confirmed by his team, the fact that he is out is definitely concerning for the promotion. With Bryce Mitchell seemingly left without an opponent now, it remains unclear whether the UFC will look for a replacement opponent, reschedule the matchup for a later event, or drop it altogether.

For most of his career, Victor Henry remained remarkably durable, avoiding any major injury-related hiatus during his run under Dana White. However, at UFC 294 in 2023, Javid Basharat landed a groin kick that ultimately turned their fight into a no-contest and sidelined Henry for some time. His coach, Josh Barnett, later revealed that the Californian was immediately taken to the hospital, where doctors discovered his testicles were massively swollen.

After that scare, Henry made a full recovery and fought three times, winning two of those outings. Still, it’s worth noting that he was coming off a return fight against Pedro Falcão in April 2025, and Mitchell would have easily been the biggest name he had faced in the UFC so far. On the other hand, ‘Thug Nasty’ had a successful bantamweight debut win over Said Nurmagomedov back in July 2025, which made Henry an important test for the controversial star at UFC Vegas 118 in terms of momentum. 

However, this isn’t the only blow the UFC has suffered recently. Marvin Vettori also announced that he is out of his scheduled fight against Ismail Naurdiev at UFC Baku on June 27 due to a rib injury. While more details surrounding the canceled UFC Vegas 118 bout are yet to emerge, another fight on the same card has also undergone a significant change.

UFC Vegas 118 fighter gets a new opponent  

On the stacked UFC Vegas 118 lineup, the UFC had booked a solid light heavyweight clash between Iwo Baraniewski and Billy Elekana. But the undefeated prospect’s next fight hit a setback after his opponent withdrew, with no reason behind the pullout revealed so far. Still, that didn’t stop the matchmakers from making a quick adjustment to keep the bout alive.

Following Elekana’s mysterious withdrawal, the UFC called upon Junior Tafa to face Baraniewski in a 205-pound bout, and the Australian accepted the offer. Tafa is coming off a solid win over Kevin Christian at UFC Perth on May 2, making this a very quick turnaround for him. Interestingly, the New Zealand native previously lost to Elekana at UFC 325 in Sydney.

With that, the undefeated Polish prospect is now set to face a completely different challenge at the UFC Apex. While many fans may still give Baraniewski the edge in this matchup, Tafa’s experience could prove valuable and make this an especially intriguing contest. The Australian light heavyweight is also a more recognizable name on the UFC roster and carries a respectable following into the fight.

Even with one notable matchup falling apart, UFC Vegas 118 still carries plenty of intrigue, especially with Belal Muhammad vs. Gabriel Bonfim and Brendan Allen vs. Edmen Shahbazyan still intact.