Paulo Costa’s middleweight bout against Ikram Aliskerov at UFC 291 has been cancelled, according to reports. The fight was scheduled to take place on July 29, 2023, at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Ikram Aliskerov vs Paulo Costa is OFF according to Ikram’s camp
the new fight that is in the works is
Ikram Aliskerov vs Roman Dolidzeper @judobetter995 pic.twitter.com/iMUgCHN1LC
— Spinnin Backfist (@SpinninBackfist) July 17, 2023
The cancellation comes as a major surprise, as Costa and Aliskerov were both coming off impressive wins. Costa had won his last fight, while Aliskerov had won his last six.
The Reason for the Cancellation
The reason for the cancellation has not been officially announced, but it is believed to be due to a Costa being rebooked for a bigger fight later in the year. It is a major blow to UFC 291 which was shaping up to be one of the best fight cards of the year and now losing one of the more anticipated fights of the night it has taken a major hit.
UFC 291 Fight Card after Cancellation
It remains to be seen who will be stepping into fight Ikram Aliskerov on just two weeks’ notice but there are rumors that Roman Dolidze could be the one to throw his name into the hat. Aliskerov vs. Dolidze would be a high-level fight between two dangerous middleweight contenders that the fight fans would sure be excited to see come to fruition.
Even if that fight does happen, it will most likely be on the prelims than it would be on the main card. So, the UFC will be looking to reshape the main card but in the meantime this is the remaining fights on next weekend’s UFC 291 PPV event live from Salt Lake City, Utah
Main Card (ESPN+ PPV 10 P.M. EST)
- Dustin Poirier vs. Justin Gaethje – Vacant BMF Title
- Jan Blachowicz vs. Alex Pereira
- Tony Ferguson vs. Bobby Green
- Michael Chiesa vs. Kevin Holland
Televised Prelims (ESPN/ESPN+ 8 P.M. EST)
- Stephen Thompson vs. Michel Pereira
- Derrick Lewis vs. Marcos Rogerio de Lima
- Trevin Giles vs. Gabriel Bonfim
- Jake Matthews vs. Miguel Baeza
Early Prelims (ESPN+/UFC Fight Pass 6 P.M. EST)
- Roman Kopylov vs. Claudio Ribeiro
- Matthew Semelsberger vs. Uros Medic
- CJ Vergara vs. Vinicius Salvador
- Miranda Maverick vs. Priscila Cachoeira
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