Ricardo Ramos off UFC on ESPN 22 due to COVID-19 protocols; Bill Algeo fight scrapped

Saturday’s UFC card has lost a fight.

The UFC on ESPN 22 main card opener between [autotag]Bill Algeo[/autotag] and [autotag]Ricardo Ramos[/autotag] his off.

The cancellation occurred after Ramos (14-3 MMA, 5-2 UFC) was deemed not eligible to compete due to COVID-19 protocols, a person with knowledge of the situation Wednesday informed MMA Junkie. Algeo (14-5 MMA, 1-1 UFC) will not remain on the card as no replacement was readily available.

It’s unclear whether another fight will be bumped up from the prelims or if the main card will continue with five fights. The UFC has not issued a statement or confirmed the change but acknowledged Ramos’ was unavailable to reporters at Wednesday’s media day due to COVID-19 protocols.

UFC on ESPN 22 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The main card airs on ESPN after prelims on ESPN/ESPN+.

With the removal, the UFC on ESPN 22 lineup now includes:

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

  • Robert Whittaker vs. Kelvin Gastelum
  • Drakkar Klose vs. Jeremy Stephens
  • Andrei Arlovski vs. Chase Sherman
  • Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Jacob Malkoun
  • Alexander Munoz vs. Luis Pena

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

  • Tracy Cortez vs. Justine Kish
  • Juan Espino vs. Alexandr Romanov
  • Lupita Godinez vs. Jessica Penne
  • Bartosz Fabinski vs. Gerald Meerschaert
  • Zarah Fairn vs. Josiane Nunes
  • Anthony Birchak vs. Tony Gravely
  • Austin Hubbard vs. Natan Levy

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