If the COVID pandemic cemented one long-term change for the UFC it’s the expectation that, come the week of a card, fights are going to get cancelled. The world’s largest MMA promotion went from putting together 12-13 bouts per-event on the regular to going for 13-15 every week, just hoping that they still had at least 10 bookings by the time Bruce Buffer stepped into the Octagon.
That kind of forward thinking has paid off once again this week in San Antonio, where the UFC hit Texas on Monday with 13 bouts, and will see just 22 fighters make it to the cage on Saturday (provided, of course, that we don’t see any more late cancellations). This news comes via promotion officials who notified the media that a lightweight bout between Manuel Torres and Trey Ogden had been pulled from the event due to “medical issues” in the Torres camp.
Carlos Contreras Legaspi of ESPN Deportes reports that the fighter was hospitalized after suffering from severe stomach pain during his weight cut.
Update on Manuel Torres: He’s back at the hotel resting, he was hospitalized around 3 AM due to severe stomach pain. At the moment it’s unclear if the UFC will try to reschedule the fight vs. Trey Ogden or they will move on a diferent direction for both. #UFCSanAntonio
— Carlos Contreras Legaspi (@CCLegaspi) March 24, 2023
The latest cancellation arrives on the heels of reports that Tamires Vidal had been forced from her fight against Hailey Cowan as well, in the prelim opener—under the similarly nebulous cause of “undisclosed medical issues.”
As a result of these scratches, the UFC has pushed their start time for the Sandhagen vs. Vera Fight Night event back 30 minutes. Prelims will now begin at 4:30 pm Eastern/1:30 pm Pacific on ESPN & ESPN+. A flyweight booking between Victor Altamirano and Vinicius Salvador will now serve as the card’s opening fight.
