Marlon Vera has been forced off this Saturday’s UFC 235 card due to illness, the promotion reported Wednesday.
UFC 235 is still days away, but that didn’t leave the promotion much time to replace the ailing Marlon Vera. On Wednesday, UFC officials announced that Vera was off the card due to illness. Expected to meet Frankie Saenz at the event, the fight has instead been removed.
In a statement on their official website, the UFC noted that “Due to illness, Marlon Vera has been removed from his UFC 235 bout against Frankie Saenz.”
“The UFC 235 card, which airs live on Pay-Per-View and is headlined by the light heavyweight title fight between Jon Jones and Anthony Smith, will proceed as scheduled with 12 bouts.”
Vera (12–5–1) had won his last two fights in the promotion, and was heading into UFC 235 with a full head of steam. Saenz (13–5) had also won two straight, putting the winner of their planned battle in a comfy spot at 135lbs.
Coincidentally, Saenz was a replacement for Marlon Vera’s original opponent, Thomas Almeida, who was forced off the card due to injury.
UFC 235 airs March 2, 2019 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. In addition to the main event of Jones vs. Smith, Tyron Woodley defends his welterweight title against Kamaru Usman in the co-main event.
