The 100th UFC Fight Night card to take place at the Apex has lost its former champion, with Cody Garbrandt forced out due to undisclosed reasons.
Garbrandt (14-6), who rose to the bantamweight throne as an undefeated fighter with a memorable performance against Dominick Cruz back in 2016, has made the walk once in 2024 thus far.
After having his hand raised in two straight over Trevin Jones and Brian Kelleher for his first win streak in seven years, "No Love's" planned surge back to the top was once again stalled when he fell via submission to Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC 300 this past April.
The Ohio native was looking to rebound outside the rankings this weekend in Las Vegas, where he was scheduled to do battle with the heavy-hitting Miles Johns in the UFC Vegas 100 co-main event.
Per MMA reporter Cole Shelton, however, the ex-bantamweight champ has withdrawn days out from the Apex-held event. The reason for his pull-out has not yet been disclosed.
The hope is for Johns (15-2, 1 NC) to remain on the card and face a late-notice replacement opponent, if the promotion is able to find one.
The 30-year-old was looking to make it three wins out of three outings this year at the expense of Garbrandt. After his one appearance in 2023 saw a victory overturned when he tested positive for the banned substance turinabol, "Chapo" has bounced back with consecutive unanimous decision wins over Cody Gibson and Douglas Silva de Andrade in 2024.
With the cancellation of Garbrandt vs. Johns, the current fights expected to take place at this weekend's UFC Fight Night at the Apex are as follows:
Main Card:
- Neil Magny vs. Carlos Prates (welterweight main event)
- Gerald Meerschaert vs. Reinier de Ridder (middleweight)
- Ricky Turcios vs. Benardo Sopaj (bantamweight)
- Luana Pinheiro vs. Gillian Robertson (women's strawweight)
- Mansur Abdul-Malik vs. Dusko Todorović (middleweight)
Preliminary Card:
- Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs. Denise Gomes (women's strawweight)
- Gaston Bolaños vs. Cortavious Romious (bantamweight)
- Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos vs. Zachary Scroggin (welterweight)
- Matthew Semelsberger vs. Charles Radtke (welterweight)
- Cody Stamann vs. Da'Mon Blackshear (bantamweight)
- Tresean Gore vs. Antonio Trócoli (middleweight)
- Melissa Dixon vs. Klaudia Sygula (women's bantamweight)