UFC fans are in utter disbelief as the UFC 303 fight card scheduled for June 29, continues to take hits, as it was announced this Friday that Carlos Ulberg is out of his fight against Anthony Smith.
The UFC 303 event adversity began last week when UFC CEO, Dana White, announced that the anticipated main event between Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler was off, due to an injury to ‘The Notorious’ Irishman.
Fortunately, the promotion announced that a blockbuster fight between Alex Pereira and Jiri Prochazka would replace it, softening the majority of the blow.
UFC 303 takes another hit with Carlos Ulberg out of Anthony Smith fight
Although Carlos Ulberg wasn’t initially on the International Fight Week event, he answered a late-notice call to step in and fight former light heavyweight champion, Jamahal Hill, after Khalil Rountree was temporarily suspended for consuming a banned substance.
Despite that, ‘Sweetdreams’ then withdrew from the fight just last week, due to a knee injury, with former title contender, Anthony Smith stepping in to fight ‘Black Jag’.
The fiasco continued this morning, though, when it was reported that Ulberg is out of his fight against ‘Lionheart’ Smith, with the promotion now looking for another replacement.
Number 10-ranked middleweight, Roman Dolidze is reportedly the frontrunner to replace the New Zealander, however, that is yet to be confirmed.
The Georgian is currently on a two-fight losing skid after an impressive 2022.
Fans claim UFC 303 fight card is ‘cursed’ after unpredictable few weeks
One of the reasons why the UFC is regarded as the top combat sports promotion is because when they are faced with adversity like late pullouts, they are notoriously able to turn the situation in their favor.
When White announced McGregor’s withdrawal, they replaced it with a monumental title fight including ‘Poatan’ Pereira, arguably their biggest star outside of the Irishman.
Not only that, but the UFC boss also announced a huge featherweight fight between Diego Lopes and Brian Ortega, which will undoubtedly have title implications.
Despite recapturing most of the attention with the replacement announcements, the UFC fanbase has continued to call the card ‘cursed’ following the latest news.
One fan commented on Ulberg’s withdrawal, saying: “This is the most cursed fight in MMA history. There will be no light heavyweights left to call soon.”
Another fan simply asked: “When will it end?”
With the event just a week away, fans will be hoping that all the bad luck has been used up, and there will be no further changes to what was supposed to be a huge event.
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