EDMONTON, Alberta — A heavyweight bout once set to open UFC 240 on Saturday is off.
Giacomo Lemos is out of a fight with Tanner Boser on the preliminary card at Rogers Place, UFC officials confirmed Thursday night to ESPN.
The UFC said it was due to a “health-related issue.”
Both men were supposed to be making their UFC debuts. Boser (16-5-1) hails from Bonnyville, Alberta, about a 2½-hour drive from Edmonton. Lemos (6-0) is a 30-year-old prospect from Brazil.
“UFC has told me that they will get me on a future card as soon as they can,” Boser said as part of a Facebook post. “I am so so sorry to all my friends and family who paid good money for tickets to come out and watch my UFC debut. I am beyond bummed.”
UFC 240 is headlined by a featherweight title fight between champion Max Holloway and challenger Frankie Edgar, the former lightweight champion.
Cris “Cyborg” Justino faces Felicia Spencer in the final fight of Justino’s current UFC contract. She plans on testing free agency afterward.