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Scratched! UFC Vegas 33 co-main event goes down in flames

Shamil! Schlimazel! Cancellation Incorporated!

UFC Fight Night: Lewis v Abdurakhimov Photo by Patrick Smith/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) was forced to postpone the heavyweight matchup between Shamil Abdurakhimov and Chris Daukaus, yet again, ripping it from the UFC Vegas 33 co-main event this Sat. night (July 31, 2021) inside APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada.

TSN first reported the change on Monday.

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HIGH STAKES LIGHTWEIGHT MATCHUP! Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns to UFC APEX on Sat., Sept. 23, 2023, with a high stakes 155-pound showdown as No. 6-ranked contender, Rafael Fiziev, takes on No. 7-seeded Mateusz Gamrot. In UFC Vegas 79’s co-main event, No. 12-ranked Featherweight contender, Bryce Mitchell, steps back into the Octagon against No. 13-seeded Dan Ige.

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No official word yet on why the bout was torpedoed; however, a positive COVID-19 test in the Abdurakhimov camp recently booted them from UFC Vegas 32, so it may be a case of “Abrek” being rebooked too quickly within the recovery window.

Expect more details in the coming days.

Abdurakhimov (20-5) is looking to rebound from his technical knockout loss to Curtis Blaydes at UFC 242 back in late 2019. As for Daukaus (11-3), he’s the winner of four straight, including last February’s first-round finish over Alexey Oleynik.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC Vegas 33 news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive here and here. For the revised UFC Vegas 33 fight card and ESPN/ESPN+ lineup click here.

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