UFC Vegas 24 loses co-main event

Moments before Saturday’s UFC Vegas 24 event went live, the fight card lost its co-main event. Lightweights Jeremy Stephens and Drakkar Klose were expected to meet in the co-featured fight. Both fighters officially weighed in on Friday.

UFC officials confirmed to MMAWeekly.com that the lightweight bout was cancelled due to an undisclosed injury to Klose. The heavyweight bout between former champion Andrei Arlovski and Chase Sherman was elevated to the co-main event slot.

The main card will still feature five bouts. The women’s flyweight bout between Tracy Cortez and Justine Kish was moved from the preliminary fight card to the main card.

In the main event, former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker faces No. 8 ranked Kelvin Gastelum, who replaced the injured Paulo Costa. The two were slated to meet in UFC 234 main event in February 2019 but Whittaker was forced out of the fight the day of the event due to an abdominal hernia.

During Friday’s weigh-ins at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Stephens shoved Klose during the face-offs. The two had to be separated by security.

UFC Vegas 24 face-offs video: Stephens nearly shoves Klose off stage