UFC Paris fight card re-tooled due to visa and medical issues

The UFC Paris: Gane vs. Spivak fight card looks to move forward with 11 bouts despite taking a couple significant blows this week. UFC officials on Wednesday announced that two fighters dropped off of the UFC Paris fight card because of visa and medical issues.

Two fight-week changes shake up the UFC Paris roster

Tajikistan fighter Muin Gafurov was forced out of his bout opposite Taylor Lapilus because of visa issue. With Gafurov out, the UFC inked undefeated Irish fighter Caolan Loughran to take his place. Lapilus now meets Loughran in a preliminary bantamweight battle.

Lucas Almeida withdrew from his fight with William Gomis because of undisclosed medical issues. As a result, Gomis will now open the UFC Paris main card by facing French fighter Yanis Ghemmouri in a featherweight contest.

“Due to visa issues, Muin Gafurov is out of his bout against Taylor Lapilus. Due to a medical issue, Lucas Almeida is also out of his bout against William Gomis.” – UFC officials

UFC Paris fight card still topped with some serious firepower

The UFC Paris fight card still has some star power at the top end. France’s own Ciryl Gane looks to rebound from his failed attempt to claim the vacant UFC heavyweight title in a battle with now-champion Jon Jones earlier this year. He’ll square off with a red-hot Sergey Spivak to continue shaping the upper echelon of the heavyweight division.

In the UFC Paris co-main event, former strawweight champion Rose Namajunas makes the move to 125 pounds. She faces no easy task, jumping immediately into the deep end of the pool, by squaring off with the No. 2 ranked UFC women’s flyweight in France’s Manon Fiorot.

The event takes place on Saturday, Sept. 2, at a special early start time. UFC Paris live results start on MMAWeekly.com at 9 a.m. PT / 12 noon ET. It marks the UFC’s return to Paris for the second time since debuting there in September 2022. Gane also headlined that card, scoring a knockout victory over Tai Tuivasa.