Minutes before walkout, UFC Sao Paulo loses third bout in less than 36 hours

The UFC Fight Night 231 main card is even shorter than anticipated due to a last-minute cancellation.

Following the conclusion of the prelims Saturday at Ginasio do Ibirapuera in Sao Paulo, UFC commentator Brendan Fitzgerald broke news on the broadcast the fight between Armen Petrosyan and Rodolfo Vieira had been canceled. The main card, headlined by Jailton Almeida vs. Derrick Lewis, continues with five fights.

The reason is an illness with Petrosyan (8-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC), revealed Fitzgerald. The cancellation marks the card’s third since the start of official weigh-ins Friday morning local time.

Neither Vieira (9-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) or Petrosyan have commented publicly on the matter at the time of publication, but Petrosyan’s manager said his client became ill at the arena.

Unfortunately our client Armen Petrosyan caught a virus or something back stage and has to pull out of his fight tonight in UFC São Paulo. UFC said they will look to get him back in right away as soon as he is cleared.

— Brian Butler-Au (@BrianButler_Au) November 5, 2023

With the cancellation, the UFC Sao Paulo lineup includes:

• Jailton Almeida vs. Derrick Lewis
• Gabriel Bonfim vs. Nicolas Dalby
• Rodrigo Nascimento vs. Don’Tale Mayes
• Caio Borralho vs. Abus Magomedov
• Elves Brenner vs. Kaynan Kruschewsky
• Rinat Fakhretdinov vs. Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos ends in majority draw (29-28, 28-28, 28-28)
• Vitor Petrino def. Modestas Bukauskas via knockout (punch) – Round 2, 1:03
• Angela Hill def. Denise Gomes via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
• Eduarda Moura def. Montserrat Conejo via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 2:14
• Marc Diakiese def. Kaue Fernandes via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 231.