Prior to the UFC 317 official weigh-in on Friday in Las Vegas, UFC commentator Jon Anik announced that a bout had been scrapped from the fight card.
A middleweight bout between Christopher Ewert and Jackson McVey was scheduled to kick off the UFC 317 early preliminary fight card but the fight was canceled after Ewert was going to badly miss weight. He was immediately released by the fight promotion. It would have been the undefeated Ewert’s octagon debut.
McVey officially weighed in but will have to wait to make his promotion debut at a later date.
“The middleweight opener between Christopher Ewert and Jackson McVey is off,” Anik said to start the UFC 317 Weigh-In Show. “McVey will still weigh in. The company will try to book him in short order.
“Ewert was going to be several pounds over (weight). He has been cut from the UFC.”
Related: UFC 317 Weigh-In results: Two world title bouts officially set
UFC 317: Topuria vs. Oliveira takes place on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The event is headlined by a fight for the vacant lightweight title between former featherweight champion Ilia Topuria (16-0) and former 155-pound titleholder Charles Oliveira (35-10, 1 NC).
The fight card features two world title bouts. In the co-main event, flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja (29-5) puts his belt on the line against No. 4 ranked Kai Kara-France (25-11, 1 NC).