The UFC’s first show of 2023 has lost its opening fight the day before the event.
Sijara Eubanks (7-7 MMA, 5-5 UFC) has been forced out of her women’s flyweight bout against Priscila Cachoeira (12-4 MMA, 4-4 UFC) a UFC Fight Night 217 due to weight-cutting issues. A UFC official announced the fight’s cancellation during the official weigh-ins at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Their fight had been scheduled to open the preliminary card at the UFC Apex. The prelims will proceed with six bouts on ESPN+, followed by a fight-five main card that streams on the same platform.
Eubanks has not fought since a December 2021 third-round knockout loss to Melissa Gatto. She was scheduled to fight Maryna Moroz twice in 2022. But after a July meeting was moved to September, Eubanks had to pull out of the matchup. She has lost three of her past four fights.
Cachoeira was looking to continue her momentum on the heels of back-to-back wins in 2022. In February, she outworked Ji Yeon Kim for a unanimous decision in a $50,000 Fight of the Night winner. In August, she knocked out Ariane Lipski in just 65 seconds.
Cachoeira made weight without issue Friday at 126 pounds. Eubanks never stepped on the official weigh-ins scale.
With the change, the UFC Fight Night 217 lineup now includes:
MAIN CARD (ESPN+, 7 p.m. ET)
- Nassourdine Imavov vs. Sean Strickland
- Dan Ige vs. Damon Jackson
- Roman Kopylov vs. Punahele Soriano
- Raquel Pennington vs. Ketlen Vieira
- Raoni Barcelos vs. Umar Nurmagomedov
MAIN CARD (ESPN+, 4 p.m. ET)
- Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Claudio Ribeiro
- Nick Fiore vs. Mateusz Rebecki
- Javid Basharat vs. Mateus Mendonca
- Carlos Hernandez vs. Allan Nascimento
- Nick Aguirre vs. Daniel Argueta
- Jimmy Flick vs. Charles Johnson
