A women’s flyweight match-up set for Saturday’s early preliminary card at UFC Atlantic City has been scrapped with the event already underway, with Victoria Dudakova vs. Melissa Gatto waved off.
Promotion officials announced the cancellation shortly before the fighters were to have made the walk. An undisclosed medical issue with Dudakova appears to be the culprit.
An undefeated Russian talent, Victoria Dudakova was entering just the third fight of her UFC career while sporting a perfect 8-0 record. The 2022 Contender Series winner picked up victories over Istela Nunes and former Invicta FC atomweight champ Jinh Yu Frey through her first two outings with the company.
Brazil’s Melissa Gatto was looking to snap back-to-back losses to Tracy Cortez and Ariane Lipski. It remains unclear as to whether the UFC will look to rebook the pairing.
UFC Atlantic City is headlined by another pair of women’s flyweights, as Manon Fiorot takes on Erin Blanchfield atop Saturday’s card. That fight could produce the next title contender in the weight class, though the winner may be waiting a bit. As it stands, The Ultimate Fighter 32 coaches Alexa Grasso, the current 125lb champ, and Valentina Shevchenko are expected to face off at the end of the season.
In the night’s co-feature, Vicente Luque takes on Joaquin Buckley. The Dudakova vs. Gatto fight had been expected to be the third bout in on Saturday. Instead, Ibo Aslan vs. Anton Turkalj was moved forward in the line-up.
UFC Atlantic City continues with its main card airing live on ESPN.
