UFC Saudi Arabia seemingly loses another main card fight to unfortunate injury

The highly anticipated UFC Saudi Arabia on June 22 faces a fresh setback as Armenian featherweight Melsik Baghdasaryan is forced to withdraw from his fight against Muhammad Naimov due to injury.

Baghdasaryan confirmed the news on his Instagram story, prompting MMA journalist Marcel Dorff to share the update on social media. This marks the second major main card fight cancellation for the event.

This latest setback comes just over a week after undefeated prospect Khamzat Chimaev pulled out from the originally scheduled headliner fight against former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker. UFC CEO Dana White announced Chimaev's withdrawal due to a "violent illness."

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Ikram Aliskerov, who was originally slated for the co-main event of UFC Vegas 93, will now step in to face Whittaker in the main event of the Saudi Arabia card. Aliskerov boasts a 15-1 record overall and remains undefeated in the UFC with a 2-0 record.

UFC Saudi Arabia fight card after recent shuffle

Despite some setbacks, UFC Saudi Arabia still boasts a stacked fight card featuring a mix of established veterans and rising contenders. (It is to be noted that the fight card is subject to change, with the recent withdrawal from Melsik Baghdasaryan due to injury.)

Check out the updated list below:

Main Card

Middleweight bout: Robert Whittaker vs. Ikram Aliskerov

Heavyweight bout: Sergei Pavlovich vs. Alexander Volkov

Welterweight bout: Kelvin Gastelum vs. Daniel Rodriguez

Featherweight bout: Muhammad Naimov vs. Melsik Baghdasaryan (withdrawn from the fight due to injury)

Light heavyweight bout: Johnny Walker vs. Volkan Oezdemir

Preliminary Card

Middleweight bout: Shara Magomedov vs. Joilton Lutterbach

Lightweight bout: Nasrat Haqparast vs. Jared Gordon

Welterweight bout: Rinat Fakhretdinov vs. Nicolas Dalby

Bantamweight bout: Kyung Ho Kang vs. Muin Gafurov

Light heavyweight bout: Magomed Gadzhiyasulov vs. Brendson Ribeiro

Middleweight bout: Abu Azaitar vs. Denis Tiuliulin

Bantamweight bout: Xiao Long vs. Chang Ho Lee

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Edited by Anurag Mitra