UFC 308 fight week began with one more fight than it has now.
The bantamweight bout between [autotag]Said Nurmagomedov[/autotag] and [autotag]Daniel Santos[/autotag] has been canceled, the promotion confirmed Wednesday. The card will continue with 13 bouts, which take place at Etihad Arena on Yas Island.
Santos (12-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) was “removed” from the bout according to the UFC, though no specific reason for the removal was cited. It’s Santos’ second-straight withdrawal.
Though he hasn’t competed since June 2023, Santos currently rides a two-fight winning streak consisting of victories over John Castaneda and Johnny Munoz.
Nurmagomedov (18-3 MMA, 7-2 UFC) has not competed since October 2023 when he bounced back into the win column with a 73-second submission victory over Muin Gafurov.
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With the removal, the UFC 308 fight card includes:
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 2 p.m. ET)
- Champ Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway – for featherweight title
- Khamzat Chimaev vs. Robert Whittaker
- Dan Ige vs. Lerone Murphy
- Magomed Ankalaev vs. Aleksandar Rakic
- Shara Magomedov vs. Armen Petrosyan
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 10 a.m. ET)
- Rafael dos Anjos vs. Geoff Neal
- Myktybek Orolbai vs. Mateusz Rebecki
- Said Nurmagomedov vs. Daniel Santos
- Brunno Ferreira vs. Abus Magomedov
- Chris Barnett vs. Kennedy Nzechukwu
- Farid Basharat vs. Victor Hugo
- Rinat Fakhretdinov vs. Carlos Leal
- Ibo Aslan vs. Raffael Cerqueira
- Ismail Naurdiev vs. Bruno Silva
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 308.