Julian Marquez vs. Saparbeg Safarov off of UFC Vegas 14 due to Safarov weight issues

Julian Marquez will not be making his return to action after all.

“The Cuban Missile Crisis” was to face Saparbeg Safarov in a middleweight bout on the main card of Saturday’s UFC Vegas 14 event, but officials announced Friday that Safarov has been pulled from the bout due to “weight management issues.”

This was to be Marquez’s first fight since July 18. After winning a contract with a highlight-reel knockout on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2017, Marquez (7-2) has gone 1-1 in the UFC with a submission win over Darren Stewart followed by a split decision loss to Alessio Di Chirico.

It is not yet known if a preliminary bout will be promoted to keep the main card at six fights.

See the updated lineup for UFC Vegas 14 below:

Main Card (ESPN+, 7 p.m. ET)

Paul Felder vs. Rafael dos Anjos

Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Khaos Williams

Kay Hansen vs. Cory McKenna

Eryk Anders vs. Antonio Arroyo

Sean Strickland vs. Brendan Allen

Preliminary Card (ESPN+, 4 p.m. ET)

Ashley Yoder vs. Miranda Granger

Alex Morono vs. Rhys McKee

Jose Quinonez vs. Louis Smolka

Randa Markos vs. Kanako Murata

Geraldo de Freitas vs. Tony Gravely

Don’tale Mayes vs. Roque Martinez