UFC Vegas 18 loses main card bout just hours before the event

Tonight’s UFC Vegas 18: ‘Overem vs. Volkov’ event just took a major hit losing one of its scheduled main card contests at the last minute.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship recently issued a press release stating that a scheduled featherweight bout between Cody Stamann and Askar Askar has been removed from this evenings fight card.

“Featherweight Aksar Askar has not been medically cleared to compete and subsequently his bout against Cody Stamann has been canceled from tonight’s event. He was replacing Andre Ewell, who was removed from his bout with Cody Stamann, due to COVID-19 protocols.” – Per the UFC.

Cody Stamann (19-3-1 MMA) was hoping to rebound at tonight’s UFC Vegas 18 event, this after suffering a decision loss to Jimmie Rivera in his most recent effort this past July.

Meanwhile, Askar Askar was set to make his promotional debut this evening in Nevada.

No word yet on if the Stamann vs. Askar matchup will be rescheduled for a new date.

Tonight’s UFC Vegas 18 event is headlined by a key heavyweight contest featuring Alistair Overeem taking on Alexander Volkov.

Overeem (47-18 MMA) enters tonight’s event with aspirations of going on one final title run. The former Strikeforce and DREAM heavyweight champion has won two fights in a row and four of his past five overall. In his most recent effort this past September, Alistair Overeem scored a fifth round TKO victory over Augusto Sakai.

Meanwhile, Alexander Volkov (32-8 MMA) was last seen in action at UFC 254 where he earned a second round TKO victory over Walt Harris. The former Bellator heavyweight champion has gone 3-2 over his past five fights overall.

In addition to Volkov vs. Overeem, tonight’s UFC Vegas 18 also features a key bantamweight bout between Frankie Edgar and Cory Sandhagen.

Get the full lineup for tonight’s fight card here.

Who are you picking to win tonight’s UFC Vegas 18 fights? Share your thoughts in the comments section PENN Nation!