Las Vegas, NV — UFC Vegas 70 did not go according to plan, and promotion president Dana White was on hand at the Apex following the event to address exactly what happened.
The Fight Night card’s main event fell through with the show already underway, and White revealed that he got news that Nikita Krylov had fallen ill “halfway through the show.”
The announcement that Krylov had pulled out of his fight with Ryan Spann opened up what became an abbreviated main card of just four fights. Brendan Allen vs. Andre Muniz was bumped up to the headlining slot as a result of Krylov’s illness.
Per White, midway through the event was when the UFC brass “found out [Krylov] was having stomach problems,” adding “he wanted to fight really bad.”
Now, the promotion will try and keep the fight intact, eyeing a card further down the line.
“These things happen. We don’t know what was wrong with him, some kind of stomach virus that hit him, could have been from cutting weight. Who knows what it was, but it happened,” said White. “We’re talking to these guys now about, do you do it in two weeks? What you don’t want to do is have him cutting weight here next week. So give him a couple weeks. And god knows what’s wrong with him, so let him heal up, and go from there.”
In the absence of Krylov vs. Spann, a number of fighters had big performances, including Allen, who White noted performed well as a 2 to 1 underdog. Tatiana Suarez returned as well; “She looked incredible, especially with the time off,” White said on that front, later pointing out that Suarez’s opponent, Montana De La Rosa, “is bad ass. That’s a legit comeback fight.”
The standouts didn’t stop there, and UFC Vegas 70’s Canadian contingent made their voices heard. In particular, Niagara Top Team’s Mike Malott submitted fellow Canuck Yohan Lainesse of Quebec, then called for the UFC to return to Canada.
That’s something that the promotion is working on, White stated. UFC fans have not been treated to an event since a 2019 date in Vancouver.
“Yes, yes, yes and yes,” White said of a return, and about Malott’s performance being impressive. “It’s obviously huge to have rising stars that are Canadian and guys that are legit and can really fight, and no doubt both of those guys that fought tonight are,” added White. “Malott looked incredible.”
“Yes, we’re working on back to Canada ASAP. This is going to be the year — the whole COVID thing, it’s going to take us a few years to get back and hit every place we need to hit. But the great part of it is is that all these places are chomping at the bit to get a UFC event back there,” the UFC president continued. “And Canada is and always has been a very important market to us. So we’re working on it. Yeah, we’ll be there soon.”
Watch the full UFC Vegas 70 post-fight media appearance by Dana White above.
