Dana White cleared up what happened with the planned heavyweight fight between Philipe Lins and Ion Cutelaba from the UFC Vegas 80 lineup this past weekend. The two were scheduled to square off in the closing preliminary card spot, but the fight was removed due to an illness to Lins.
Dana White On Scrapped UFC Vegas 80 Fight
Illness caused the UFC to scrap plans for Philipe Lins and Ion Cutelaba this past weekend at UFC Vegas 80. The card aired live on ESPN+ from the Apex in Las Vegas with Bobby Green downing Grant Dawson in the main event.
According to UFC president Dana White, Lins became ill the day of the bout, causing the cancellation.
“He didn’t feel good,” White said (thanks to MMA Fighting for the quotes). “We sent doctors to look at him. They worked with him, they did some stuff, he said he still didn’t feel good, so the fight was pulled.
“We paid Cutelaba.”
The 38-year-old Lins has had trouble remaining on the fight card since joining the promotion following a run in the PFL. The former PFL heavyweight champion has withdrawn at least seven times including fights scheduled with Ovince Saint Preux and Ben Rothwell.
Lins, a native of Brazil, has won three straight including a knockout in a re-booked bout with Saint Preux. He bested Maxim Grishin this past June by decision to improve to 17-5 overall.
Cutelaba was looking to make it 2-for-2 this year after stopping Tanner Boser back in April. That win snapped a three-fight losing skid for the veteran, who sports an overall record of 17-9-1 with a no-contest. He has been with the UFC since signing in 2016 after going 11-1 in the regional scene.