UFC: Smith vs. Teixeira main card bout canceled due to medical issues

The opening bout for Wednesday night’s UFC Fight Night: Smith vs. Teixeira has been canceled because of medical issues.

A middleweight bout between Karl Roberson and Marvin Vettori was scheduled to open the UFC Jacksonville main card on Wednesday night, but it has been nixed because of medical issues. UFC officials announced the cancellation Wednesday morning, noting the medical issues were unrelated to COVID-19. 

“Due to medical issues unrelated to COVID-19 after his weight cut, Karl Roberson has been pulled from his Wednesday bout with Marvin Vettori at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville,” read an official statement.

“The UFC Fight Night card, headlined by the bout between Anthony Smith and Glover Teixeira, will proceed as scheduled with 10 bouts.”

The announcement comes after Roberson already failed to make weight on Tuesday.

Roberson stepped on the scale at the beginning of the two-hour weigh-in window at 187.5 pounds. That is 1.5 pounds above the allowed limit of 186 pounds for a middleweight non-title bout. Roberson and his team had to have known at that point that there would be problems trying to cut weight further, since he could have continued to cut weight and stepped on the scale toward the end of the two-hour window.

When they faced off following the weigh-in, Vettori and Roberson were trash talking with Vettori repeatedly saying, “You already broke making weight. I can’t wait. You’re a broken man.”

UFC Fight Night: Smith vs. Teixeira is the second of three events the UFC is promoting in Jacksonville, Fla., over an eight-day span. The live fights mark the first major sporting events to restart operations since the global coronavirus pandemic engulfed the world.

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UFC Fight Night: Smith vs. Teixeira weigh-in face-offs

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