Two UFC 313 Fights Canceled Hours Before Event, Including Curtis Blaydes’ Return

There’s been some carnage on UFC 313 fight day, with two matchups falling through on extremely late notice.

The days leading up to Saturday’s pay-per-view event at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena went smoothly, including no issues on the scale at Friday’s weigh-ins.

But as is always the case in mixed martial arts — as 2025 has proven thus far — no bout is good to go until the cage door closes behind both athletes.

That was proven today when the UFC announced two cancellations just a few short hours before its latest numbered event commences in “Sin City.”

After John Castañeda was confirmed to be out of his early prelim with Chris Gutierrez, illness also struck a more high-profile matchup, with former interim heavyweight title challenger Curtis Blaydes withdrawing from UFC 313’s featured prelim opposite newcomer Rizvan Kuniev.

Tonight’s event will move forward with 10 fights, culminating in a light heavyweight title battle between champion Alex Pereira and challenger Magomed Ankalaev.

Harvey Leonard
Harvey Leonard has been at MMA News since 2021 and lead writer since 2023. He has built experience writing and creating content for publications like Sportskeeda, GiveMeSport, and WhatCulture. He has a degree in Sports Journalism, having graduated from Southampton Solent University in England in 2020.

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