IRVINE, Calif. – The preliminary card for the UFC’s return to Southern California took a hit on weigh-in day.
The only heavyweight fight on the card at UFC 298 (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+), which takes place Saturday at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., is off after Justin Tafa (7-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC) suffered an injury at some point before his trip to the scale for a fight against Marcos Rogerio de Lima (21-9-1 MMA, 10-7 UFC).
Details of the injury weren’t disclosed, but a person with knowledge of the situation confirmed the fight’s removal to MMA Junkie. UFC officials made a formal announcement during the official weigh-ins for UFC 298.
The 30-year-old Tafa, from New Zealand, has won three straight fights by first-round knockout. But in late 2021, ahead of a head-kick KO win over Harry Hunsucker, he missed his mark on the scale and got saddled with the dubious distinction of being the first UFC heavyweight to miss weight.
Rogerio de Lima, 38, was looking to get back in the win column after a 33-second knockout loss to Derrick Lewis in July 2029 snapped a two-fight winning streak.
With the change, the UFC 298 lineup now includes:
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)
- Champ Alexander Volkanovski vs. Ilia Topuria – for featherweight title
- Paulo Costa vs. Robert Whittaker
- Ian Machado Garry vs. Geoff Neal
- Henry Cejudo vs. Merab Dvalishvili
- Anthony Hernandez vs. Roman Kopylov
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN, 8 p.m. ET)
- Mackenzie Dern vs. Amanda Lemos
- Rinya Nakamura vs. Carlos Vera
- Zhang Mingyang vs. Brendson Ribeiro
- Danny Barlow vs. Josh Quinlan
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 7 p.m. ET)
- Oban Elliott vs. Val Woodburn
- Andrea Lee vs. Miranda Maverick
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 298.
