Said Nurmagomedov lost his opponent and now has the weekend off.
On Wednesday, UFC announced that Nurmagomedov’s scheduled bantamweight bout against Daniel Santos at UFC 308 this Saturday has officially been cancelled. Santos’ withdrawal was first reported by MMA Fighting’s Damon Martin.
Officials had been attempting to find a replacement opponent for Santos and several fighters—including flyweight Charles Johnson, who competed this past Saturday—chimed in on social media lobbying for the opportunity, but the decision has been made to book Nurmagomedov for a later date instead.
The reason for Santos’ withdrawal has not been disclosed.
Nurmagomedov (18-3) is yet to compete in 2024 having seen two bouts fall through. In addition to the Santos cancellation, Nurmagomedov withdrew from a bout against Montel Jackson this past June.
The 32-year-old has put together an impressive UFC career so far, winning seven of his nine fights for the promotion. Most recently, Nurmagomedov scored a fast first-round submission of Muin Gafurov at UFC 294.