As of early Thursday morning, it appears that Jared Vanderaa (11-4) is out of his bout with Sergey Spivak at UFC 256.
The fight was forced off the card due to a positive COVID-19 test on Vanderaa’s part. News of the fight falling apart was first reported by MMA Junkie.
Now that the heavyweight bout between Vanderaa and Spivak is off, there is doubt as to whether the organization will be able to find a short-notice replacement for Spivak (11-2). It’s another blow to the PPV event, which to date has seen nearly a dozen changes to its originally planned line-up.
Following his performance on Dana White’s Contender Series, there was definite anticipation to see Vanderaa return to the cage. The American put on quite the display when he picked up a TKO win over Harry Hunsucker on the show. He proceeded to call out Spivak following the win.
As it stands, UFC 256 is set to move forward with a historic main event, as Deiveson Figueiredo defends the flyweight belt in a record three-week turnaround. Coming red hot off a guillotine choke victory over Alex Perez, Figueiredo has looked astounding inside the octagon of late. In the co-main event, meanwhile, submission specialists go to work as the unorthodox Tony Ferguson takes on UFC submission leader Charles Oliveira.
The UFC 256 card currently includes the following bouts:
- Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Brandon Moreno
- Tony Ferguson vs. Charles Oliveira
- Renato Moicano vs. Rafael Fiziev
- Kevin Holland vs. Ronaldo Souza
- Junior dos Santos vs. Ciryl Gane
- Cub Swanson vs. Daniel Pineda
- Mackenzie Dern vs. Virna Jandiroba
- Billy Quarantillo vs. Gavin Tucker
- Tecia Torres vs. Sam Hughes
- Chase Hooper vs. Peter Barrett
