Almeida Bounced From UFC Vegas 82

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) will return to its APEX facility in Las Vegas for this weekend’s UFC Vegas 82 mixed martial arts (MMA) card on ESPN+, headlined by the middleweight showdown between Top 15 contenders Brendan Allen and Paul Craig.

Unfortunately, the 185-pound contest between Cesar Almeida and Christian Leroy Duncan has been scratched from the ESPN+ preliminary card, following an undisclosed “medical issue” — and subsequent surgery — for the 35 year-old Brazilian.

That’s according to veteran combat sports reporter Guilherme Cruz.

No word yet on what the promotion plans to do with opponent Christian Leroy Duncan (8-1), who is looking to rebound from his unanimous decision loss to Armen Petrosyan back in June. As for Almeida (4-0), this was expected to mark his Octagon debut after an impressive performance on Dana White’s “Contender Series” last August.

For the revised UFC Vegas 82 schedule and ESPN+ lineup click here.