UFC London bout scratched — ‘This is where my fight week ends’

UFC bantamweight Vince Morales was not medically cleared to compete and as a result, forced to withdraw from his upcoming Nathaniel Wood fight scheduled for the ESPN+ “Prelims” card on Sat. night (March 19, 2022) at O2 Arena in London, England.

LIVE! Stream UFC Vegas 79 On ESPN+

INAUGURAL NOCHE UFC EVENT! Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is bringing an action-packed card to T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Sat., Sept. 23, 2023, to celebrate Mexican Independence Day with a thrilling women’s Flyweight championship rematch between champion Alexa Grasso and No. 1-ranked contender, Valentina Shevchenko. In Noche UFC’s co-main event, all-action Welterweight standouts, Jack Della Maddalena and Kevin Holland, will hook ‘em up in a fun 170-pound showdown.

Don’t miss a single second of face-punching action!

• STREAM NOW

“Unfortunately, this is where my fight week ends,” Morales wrote on Instagram. “Right when I got off the plane, I broke a fever that won’t seem to come down and have been sick ever since. Breaks my heart, but with the circumstances, I can’t get cleared to start my cut, let alone compete. Sorry to everyone, especially to Nathaniel Wood and UFC. Thanks for the support. Hoping to get this cleared and be booked again shortly.”

No word yet on whether or not his illness was COVID related.

Wood will likely remain in the lineup as a potential alternate for the bantamweight battle between Jack Shore and Timur Valiev, unless by some miracle the promotion can scare up a replacement fighter and get him through medicals (and on weight) in two days.

For the revised UFC London fight card and ESPN+ lineup click here.