Rafael dos Anjos is now off the UFC 254 pay-per-view.
The former UFC Lightweight Champion was originally scheduled to fight Islam Makhachev on the stacked event; however, Anjos has been forced to pull out of the show due to testing positive for the coronavirus:
The UFC veteran has struggled inside of the octagon lately as Anjos is currently on a two-fight losing streak thanks to Leon Edwards and Michael Chiesa. The Brazilian only has one win in his last five fights, which is against Kevin Lee at UFC Fight Night 152.
In terms of Makhachev, there’s no word on whether officials are searching for a replacement for the welterweight. While Anjos has acknowledged his withdrawal from the bout, UFC officials have yet to speak publicly about the situation.
With the latest change to UFC 254, below is the latest fight-card for the upcoming pay-per-view on Oct. 24:
Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Justin Gaethje – for UFC lightweight title
Jared Cannonier vs. Robert Whittaker
Walt Harris vs. Alexander Volkov
Islam Makhachev vs. TBA
Cynthia Calvillo vs. Lauren Murphy
Magomed Ankalaev vs. Ion Cutelaba
Phil Hawes vs. Jacob Malkoun
Stefan Struve vs. Tai Tuivasa
Alex Oliveira vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov
Sam Alvey vs. Da Un Jung
Liana Jojua vs. Miranda Maverick
Sergey Morozov vs. Umar Nurmagomedov
Casey Kenney vs. Nathaniel Wood
Joel Alvarez vs. Alexander Yakovlev