The UFC 287 card recently suffered a huge blow with less than two weeks left before fight night.
A welterweight matchup between perennial contenders Li Jingliang and Michael Chiesa has fallen through due to an injury. Jingliang initially announced on the Chinese social media platform Douyin that he won’t make it against Chiesa on April 8 due to a spine injury that could require surgery.
It remains unclear whether Chiesa has found a replacement for the UFC 287 fight card. ‘Maverick’ hasn’t competed in a year and a half and will be looking to bounce back from a two-fight skid when he does. Meanwhile, Li Jingliang is coming off a controversial split decision loss against Daniel Rodriguez in September, making it three losses in five outings for ‘The Leech’.
The Chinese standout was originally scheduled to face Tony Ferguson at UFC 279 but was handed the worst deal in a last-minute reshuffling due to Khamzat Chimaev’s massive weight miss.
The UFC 287 card looks like this after the recent cancelation:
Alex Pereira vs. Israel Adesanya – for middleweight title
Gilbert Burns vs. Jorge Masvidal
Rob Font vs. Adrian Yanez
Christian Rodriguez vs. Raul Rosas Jr.
Kevin Holland vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio
Chris Curtis vs. Kelvin Gastelum
Michael Chiesa vs. TBA
Gerald Meerschaert vs. Joseph Pyfer
Cynthia Calvillo vs. Lupita Godinez
Luana Pinheiro vs. Michelle Waterson-Gomez
Steve Garcia vs. Shayilan Nuerdanbieke
Chris Barnett vs. Chase Sherman
Ignacio Bahamondes vs. TBA
Jaqueline Amorim vs. Sam Hughes