UFC 296 Takes a Hit as Main Card Fight Cancelled

One of the most anticipated fights of the year has been cancelled.

Mathew Riddle | Dec 14, 2023

UFC 296 Takes a Hit as Main Card Fight Cancelled /

Ian Garry is out of his fight with Vicente Luque at UFC 296 on December 16. "The Future" was barred from fighting this weekend by a doctor after coming down with pneumonia. As of yet there is no replacement opponent for Luque.

"I have pneumonia. They tried everything to help me," Garry told Ariel Helwani. "In the end, UFC doctor said there's no chance I can fight. The UFC doctor made the call.

"This annoys me more than anyone. I want to fight. It's my favorite thing to do."

Luque released his own message on the matter:

"I wish him the best recovery, speedy recovery... the best for his family. And it's really unfortunate, I was so ready for this fight. I've had a great training camp.

"...Weight cut has been going so, so good - the easiest weight cut I've had in my career... It's out of my control."

One option for Luque is a trilogy bout with #2 ranked Belal Muhammad, who is the official backup for Leon Edwards vs. Colby Covington, though it is doubtful Muhammad would accept the bout after defeating Luque back in April.

UFC 296 News: Backup Fighter Revealed for Leon Edwards vs. Colby Covington

If the Luque fight is completely wiped from the card, the UFC would no doubt elevate the featured prelim between Josh Emmett and Bryce Mitchell to the main card. Fans can also expect the event to begin later.

UFC 296 now looks like this (subject to change):

Leon Edwards vs. Colby Covington
Alexandre Pantoja vs. Brandon Royval
Shavkat Rakhmonov vs. Stephen Thompson
Tony Ferguson vs. Paddy Pimblett
Vicente Luque vs. Ian Garry
Josh Emmett vs. Giga Chikadze Bryce Mitchell
Irene Aldana vs. Karol Rosa
Cody Garbrandt vs. Brian Kelleher
Casey O'Neill vs. Ariane Lipski
Alonzo Menifield vs. Dustin Jacoby
Tagir Ulanbekov vs. Cody Durden
Andre Fili vs. Lucas Almeida
Martin Buday vs. Shamil Gaziev
Randy Brown vs. Muslim Salikhov

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Published Dec 14, 2023

MATHEW RIDDLE

Mathew is a UK-based combat sports journalist, graphic designer, and SEO expert with over five years of experience in digital marketing and a dedicated four-year track record in MMA journalism. He joined MMAKO in 2023. Mathew's insights have been featured on The Fight Fanatic, Heavy on UFC, Fansided, and Sportskeeda. Reach him at mr@thefightfanatic.com.