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Check out these photos from the UFC 277 ceremonial weigh-ins in Dallas.
Check out these photos from the UFC 277 ceremonial weigh-ins which took place at American Airlines Center in Dallas. (Photos by Matthew Wells, MMA Junkie)
Less than two weeks away, the UFC 277 prelims are falling apart, and the promotion continues to patch things up.
UFC 277 is less than two weeks away, and the promotion continues to work through numerous fighter injuries and visa-related withdrawals.
While luckily the main card remains intact, a handful of preliminary card fighter pullouts have resulted in new bouts and a couple of yet-to-be-filled openings.
The event takes place July 30 at American Airlines Center in Dallas with the main card streaming on pay-per-view after prelims on ESPN/ESPN+.
See below to check out the UFC 277 changes from the past week.
Heavyweights will collide at UFC 277.
A heavyweight matchup has been added to UFC 277.
[autotag]Don’Tale Mayes[/autotag] (9-4 MMA, 2-2 UFC) and [autotag]Justin Tafa[/autotag] (5-3 MMA, 2-3 UFC) will square off in a three-round bout at a location and venue to-be-announced for the July 30 pay-per-view. Dallas currently is the frontrunner to host the event.
Two people with knowledge of the booking informed MMA Junkie of the matchup Friday but asked to remain anonymous since the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.
Mayes, 30, currently is on a two-fight winning streak. The back-to-back victories over Roque Martinez and Josh Parisian came after he lost his first two UFC bouts.
Tafa, 28, snapped a two-fight skid in December when he knocked out Harry Hunsucker with a head kick. Prior to the bout, Tafa became the first heavyweight in UFC history to miss weight when he tipped the scales at 267 pounds.
With the addition, UFC 277 includes:
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Check out the full list of the fighter medical suspensions from Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 199 in Las Vegas.
The last UFC event of the year left six fighters facing potential 6-month suspensions.
UFC Fight Night 199 went down on Saturday, Dec. 18 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. In the main event former UFC heavyweight title challenger [autotag]Derrick Lewis[/autotag] stopped [autotag]Chris Daukaus[/autotag] in the first round.
Neither fighter faced the maximum standard suspension of 6 months, but others fighting outside the top billing did. [autotag]Cub Swanson[/autotag], [autotag]Jordan Leavitt[/autotag], [autotag]Don’Tale Mayes[/autotag], [autotag]Harry Hunsucker[/autotag], [autotag]Justin Tafa[/autotag] and [autotag]Raphael Assuncao[/autotag] were the six facing potential six-month outings.
On Tuesday, MMA Junkie acquired a full list of the UFC Fight Night 199 medical suspensions handed out by the NAC from MixedMartialArts.com, the Association of Boxing Commission’s official record keeper.
Below is the full list of medical suspensions from UFC Fight Night 199:
After a failed DWCS attempt, Harry Hunsucker has secured his UFC contract.
[autotag]Harry Hunsucker[/autotag] has stepped up.
With [autotag]Don’Tale Mayes[/autotag] out of UFC on ESPN 21, Hunsucker (7-3 MMA, 0-0 UFC) signed with the promotion and will make his debut against Tai Tuivasa in a heavyweight bout.
Two people with knowledge of the matchup informed MMA Junkie of the booking Wednesday but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.
Hunsucker, 32, competed on Dana White’s Contender Series, Season 4, in November. He lost to Jared Vanderaa via first-round TKO. In February, he defeated Cory Moon via first-round TKO at HR MMA 119.
Tuivasa (10-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC) most recently competed at UFC 254 in October when he snapped a three-fight losing skid with a first-round knockout of Stefan Struve.
Per sources, Tai Tuivasa (11-3) has a new opponent for #UFCVegas22. He'll take on promotional newcomer Harry Hunsucker (7-3) this Saturday. @MMAjunkieJohn and I have a story coming to @MMAjunkie shortly.
— Nolan King (@mma_kings) March 17, 2021
UFC on ESPN 21 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The main card airs on ESPN following prelims on ESPN2.
MAIN CARD (ESPN, 10 p.m. ET)
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN2, 7 p.m. ET)
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