Weight management issues have led to the loss of a featherweight fight from Saturday’s UFC 280 card.
Just prior to Friday’s official weigh-in in Abu Dhabi, UFC officials announced that Zubaira Tukhugov vs. Lucas Almeida has been removed from the event. The dreaded “weight management issues” were cited as the reason, with Tukhugov reportedly to blame.
Dagestani featherweight Tukhugov (20-5-1), part of Khabib Nurmagomedov’s camp, most recently competed last October at UFC 267, picking up a unanimous decision victory over Ricardo Ramos. Tukhugov had been expected to return to action this past August, only to pull out of a fight with Nate Landwehr.
Tukhugov has had weight struggles before, missing the mark for a UFC 253 match-up with Hakeem Dawodu, which he ultimately lost. Tukhugov has endured multiple extended layoffs during his UFC career, thanks to both a USADA suspension, and a suspension for his part in the chaos stemming from UFC 229.
Lucas Almeida (14-1) was coming off a win in his promotional debut against Ultimate Fighter winner Mike Trizano.
UFC 280 will take place at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, UAE this Saturday, October 22, 2022. The following fights remain on the card:
- Charles Oliveira vs. Islam Makhachev – for the vacant UFC lightweight championship
- Aljamain Sterling (c) vs. T.J. Dillashaw – for the UFC bantamweight championship
- Petr Yan vs. Sean O’Malley
- Beneil Dariush vs. Mateusz Gamrot
- Katlyn Chookagian vs. Manon Fiorot
- Belal Muhammad vs. Sean Brady
- Makhmud Muradov vs. Caio Borralho
- Nikita Krylov vs. Volkan Oezdemir
- Abubakar Nurmagomedov vs. Gadzhi Omargadzhiev
- Armen Petrosyan vs. A.J. Dobson
- Muhammad Mokaev vs. Malcolm Gordon
- Karol Rosa vs. Lina Länsberg
