UFC Fight Night: Hall vs. Strickland loses a second fight as Chris Daukaus vs. Shamil Abdurakhimov is rescheduled

UFC Fight Night: Hall vs. Strickland has taken yet another blow as the heavyweight clash between Chris Daukaus and Shamil Abdurakhimov has fallen off the card. The bout was initially set to be the co-main event, but has now been replaced by Niklas Stolze and Mounir Lazzez.

This is the second fight scrapped from the event, with Sam Alvey vs. Roman Kopylov falling apart after Kopylov was unable to enter the US. The UFC were unable to find Alvey a new opponent and will instead place him on a card on August 28th.

Sam Alvey announces on TikTok his fight against Roman Kopylov is off the #UFCVegas33 card. Kopylov can't get into the US. They tried to get Alvey a new opponent. Did not found one. He accepted a fight on the August 28th card via an opponent TBA.

— Marcel Dorff 🇳🇱🇮🇩 (@BigMarcel24) July 26, 2021

Daukaus and Abdurakhimov's fight cancelation was reported by MMA journalist Aaron Bronsteter, who posted the following on his social media handle:

"Per sources, Chris Daukaus and Shamil Abdurakhimov has been removed from Saturday's card and will be rescheduled to an upcoming card TBD."

Per sources, Chris Daukaus and Shamil Abdurakhimov has been removed from Saturday's card and will be rescheduled to an upcoming card TBD.

— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) July 27, 2021

Bronsteter also reported that it would be Abdurakhimov's fifth scheduled fight in a row to fall through. He has not competed since 2019 but still holds a top 10 ranking in the UFC's heavyweight division.

Per Tapology, this is the fifth scheduled bout in a row that has fallen through for Abdurakhimov. His last bout was a loss to Curtis Blaydes in October, 2019. pic.twitter.com/xX9zas3F6M

— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) July 27, 2021

Chris Daukaus calls out top 10 UFC heavyweight opponents

While initial reports implied that the fight would be rescheduled, Chris Daukaus has since suggested that he is looking for a different opponent. The No.10-ranked UFC heavyweight declared Abdurakhimov should be stripped of his position and also called out any other top 10-ranked opponent. He said:

"A guy who's had two years of rest felt too weak to fight. Pull him from the rankings and give me his spot. Anyone else in the top ten also too weak to fight me? #UFCVegas33."

A guy who's had two years of rest felt too weak to fight. Pull him from the rankings and give me his spot. Anyone else in the top ten also too weak to fight me? #UFCVegas33

— Chris Daukaus (@ChrisDaukausMMA) July 27, 2021

The loss of both Daukaus vs. Abdurakhimov and Alvey vs. Kopylov have been serious blows to UFC Fight Night: Hall vs. Strickland, which was already a card somewhat lacking in star power. The main event between Sean Strickland and Uriah Hall is an intriguing prospect, but there is little name value outside of that fight.

There is also the fact that Bellator MMA have their biggest event of the year airing at the same time. Bellator double champ Patricio 'Pitbull' Freire, a man considered by many to be one of the best fighters in the world outside of the UFC, takes on undefeated prospect A.J. McKee in the finale of Bellator's featherweight grand prix.