After a close call, UFC Vegas 33 is back to 10 fights.
Following an initial report from TSN regarding Niklas Stolze vs. Jared Gooden being removed from the lineup for Saturday’s UFC card at UFC APEX, MMA Fighting has confirmed with officials that the Stolze-Gooden fight is back on.
TSN and ESPN were first to report the reversion. According to officials, a breach of COVID-19 protocol initially led to the bout’s cancellation, but it was added back to the card after clearance from a doctor. Neither fighter tested positive for COVID-19.
The original news of the cancellation hit the same morning that the UFC Vegas 33 card lost its scheduled co-main event between bantamweights Kyung Ho Kang and Rani Yahya. Yahya announced that he tested positive for COVID-19 and was forced to withdraw from the fight.
A strawweight bout between Cheyanne Buys and Gloria de Paula now serves as Saturday’s co-main event.
See the updated lineup below:
Main Card (ESPN, ESPN+ at 9 p.m. ET)
Uriah Hall vs. Sean Strickland
Cheyanne Buys vs. Gloria de Paula
Niklas Stolze vs. Jared Gooden
Collin Anglin vs. Melsik Baghdasaryan
Bryan Barberena vs. Jason Witt
Preliminary Card (ESPN, ESPN+ at 6:30 p.m. ET)
Chris Gruetzemacher vs. Rafa Garcia
Daniel Chavez vs. Kai Kamaka III