UFC 273 loses slated middleweight bout between Kelvin Gastelum and Nassourdine Imavov

UFC 273 has taken a hit just weeks ahead of the card. However, the event has also added a key heavyweight matchup as well.

UFC 273 is currently set to be headlined by Alexander Volkanovski defending his featherweight crown against Chan Sung Jung. Meanwhile, the co-main event features the long-awaited rematch between Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan. Their first encounter ended in a disqualification win for ‘Funk Master’ in March 2021 at UFC 259.

The rest of the card features a key matchup between Khamzat Chimaev and Gilbert Burns. Until today, another pivotal middleweight bout on the event featured Kelvin Gastelum and Nassourdine Imavov. The fight was originally set for the main card but has now been pulled.

The UFC made the announcement earlier today, among a slew of other fight card changes. The bout was pulled due to VISA issues with Imavov. Apparently, the promotion isn’t going to seek a replacement fighter for Gastelum. Instead, the UFC will apparently look to re-book this middleweight bout for the future.

Image: Kelvin Gastelum on Instagram

While the middleweight brawl between Gastelum and Imavov is now off, other fights have been added. A women’s bantamweight brawl between Irene Aldana and Aspen Ladd was set for UFC 273.

However, Aldana has been forced off the card due to injury. She will now be replaced by Raquel Pennington. ‘Rocky’ is currently riding a three-fight winning streak and last defeated Macy Chiasson in December 2021.

Another bout added to the event is a heavyweight matchup between division staples Ilir Latifi and Aleksei Oleinik. The fight was originally set to go down last week at UFC Columbus. However, hours before the event, Latifi was forced to pull out due to illness. It seems that everything is now good to go, as the two heavyweights will now throw down in May.

What do you think about all these changes to UFC 273?