Amir Albazi vs. Zhalgas Zhumagulov pulled from UFC on ESPN 18 lineup

Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 18 lineup has lost one of the bouts scheduled for its main card, as Amir Albazi vs. Zhalgas Zhumagulov has been removed from the lineup.

A passport issue has prevented Zhumagulov (13-4 MMA, 0-1 UFC) from facing Albazi (13-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) in a flyweight bout at the upcoming event, which takes place at UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The bout is expected to be postponed to a later date.

MMA Junkie verified the fight scratch with a person close to the situation who wished to remaining anonymous. Russian news outlet TASS first shared the news, reporting that Zhumagulov’s U.S. visa was approved, but he did not receive his passport in time to compete at UFC on ESPN 18.

That means Albazi will have to wait a bit longer to make his second octagon appearance after his debut at UFC Fight Night 172 in July, where he won by first-round submission.

The latest UFC on ESPN 18 lineup now includes:

MAIN CARD (ESPN2/ESPN+, 10 p.m. ET)

• Curtis Blaydes vs. Derrick Lewis
• Devin Clark vs. Anthony Smith
• Josh Parisian vs. Parker Porter
• Miguel Baeza vs. Takashi Sato
• Bill Algeo vs. Spike Carlyle

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 7 p.m. ET)

• Gina Mazany vs. Rachael Ostovich
• Norma Dumont vs. Ashlee Evans-Smith
• Martin Day vs. Anderson dos Santos
• Malcolm Gordon vs. Su Mudaerji
• Nate Maness vs. Luke Sanders
• Kai Kamaka III vs. Jonathan Pearce