THE UFC 322 fight card has taken a massive hit less than two days before fight night.
The MMA leader’s penultimate fight card of the year takes place at Madison Square Garden early on Sunday morning.
Topping the bill is the eagerly anticipated welterweight title fight between champion Jack Della Maddalena and challenger Islam Makhachev, who has moved up from lightweight to try to claim a second belt.
The co-main event features another titanic clash between flyweight queen Valentina Shevchenko and former strawweight champ Zhang Weili.
Fight fans around the world were left in awe when the full fight card, which also features Brit Leon Edwards, was announced.
But they’re now lamenting the loss of one of the most anticipated fights of the night.
Bantamweight prospect Malcolm Wellmaker’s clash with Cody Haddon is off the card after the latter suffered a BROKEN FOOT on Wednesday.
The news, however, was only made public before this morning‘s pre-fight press conference.
The undefeated Wellmaker will, however, remain on the card as UFC rookie Ethyn Ewing has stepped up on short notice to take the fight.
Wellmaker, who is a perfect 2-0 inside the octagon, is overjoyed to still be fighting at ‘The World’s Most Famous Arena’ this weekend.
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Taking to his Instagram, he said: “I got the phone call this morning that last night, somehow, [Haddon] broke his foot and he cannot compete.
“My new opponent is Ethyn Ewing. I know as much about him as y’all do, but he stepped up to take the fight.
“Shout out to him, and I still have my opportunity to fight at Madison Square Garden this Saturday.
“To be honest, it really breaks my heart that I’m not fighting against Cody Haddon anymore.
“I was looking forward to the challenge, the respect I possibly could have got from performing the way I plan to.
“But I’m grateful to have a replacement.”
UFC 322 will be aired live in the UK on TNT Sports Box Office. TNT Sports is the home of UFC in the UK. To find out more, visit here.
