The hits just keep on coming as far as UFC Vegas 72 is concerned.
Having lost (or had modified) several bouts on this Saturday’s Fight Night card, the promotion has now seen popular bantamweight Brian Kelleher forced to withdraw from the event. In Kelleher’s place against Journey Newson (10-4, 1NC) will be promotional newcomer Marcus McGhee (6-1).
UFC officials announced the news on Wednesday, following an initial report by Eurosport. The fight has now shifted to a 140lb catchweight affair.
In a statement to their official website, the promotion expained that “Due to injury, Brian Kelleher has been removed from his bantamweight bout with Journey Newson. Replacing Kelleher will be UFC newcomer Marcus McGhee, who is 6-1 with all victories coming by way of knockout. This bout will be contested at a catchweight of 140 lbs.”
Per a post on social media by Kelleher, he did not pull out but was rather not cleared to compete by the UFC. “Boom” promised more info to come, though the end result is essentially the same: he’s out of the fight, and McGhee gets the short-notice opportunity.
Before you say some shit I will release a statement sometime in the near future. Out of my control. The ufc advised this and will not allow me to fight. More details to come… very unfortunate news
— Brian BOOM Kelleher (@brianboom135) April 26, 2023
Newsom enters the fight off a loss to Sergey Morozov in December, and will be looking for his second win inside the octagon. McGhee, making his debut, has been fighting mainly for LFA and RUF since turning pro in 2020.
The seemingly ever-changing UFC Vegas 72 card goes down this Saturday, April 29, 2023 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. The following fights have been reported for the card thus far:
- Song Yadong vs. Ricky Simon
- Caio Borralho vs. Michał Oleksiejczuk
- Rodolfo Vieira vs. Cody Brundage
- Julian Erosa vs. Fernando Padilla
- Marcos Rogério de Lima vs. Waldo Cortes-Acosta
- Joshua Quinlan vs. Trey Waters
- Martin Buday vs. Jake Collier
- Cody Durden vs. Charles Johnson
- Stephanie Egger vs. Irina Alekseeva
- Journey Newson vs. Marcus McGhee
- Hailey Cowan vs. Jamey-Lyn Horth
