[9] A UFC Bantamweight Championship bout between current champion Petr Yan and Aljamain Sterling was originally scheduled to serve as the co-main event.

On November 22, Russian media revealed that the fight was also canceled for personal reasons related to Yan and is expected to be booked at a later date.

[13][14] Former Rizin FF Bantamweight Champion Manel Kape, who was expected to make his promotional debut a week later at UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Neal, served as a potential replacement.

[20] On October 13, it was announced that Akhmedov pulled out due to undisclosed reasons and was replaced by former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Ronaldo Souza.

[25][26] Renato Moicano and Rafael Fiziev were expected to meet in a lightweight bout at UFC on ESPN: Smith vs.

[29] However, Lee pulled out in early December due to a broken nose and Robertson was rescheduled to face Taila Santos at UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs.