Losing fights is never a good thing for all involved. Especially when it’s right in the middle of fight week, making the task of finding a replacement even harder.
And for Mexican bantamweight prospect Irene Aldana, no one is going to be able to fill in for her opponent Bethe Correia.
The bout was initially reported as off the card by Talk MMA for undisclosed reasons. Combate reported shortly after that it was because the California State Athletic Commission didn’t approve Correia due to her eye surgery that took place in October that prevented this matchup from first happening in January.
Aldana later confirmed the fight cancellation herself on Instagram.
https://twitter.com/TalkMMA/status/1024382686398427136
#RUMOR is Bethe Correia is off the card for #UFC227 vs Irene Aldana for an undisclosed reason
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bl7JK71DZ21/?utm_source=ig_twitter_share&igshid=l4jjs7tifrci
Very sad for the cancellation of my fight, I wish a quick recovery to @bethecorreiaand I thank to the UFC for really trying to get me a replacement and for their good attention, unfortunately it was not achieved but I hope to compete in some other card as soon as possible . Thanks to my coaches , teammates , family and followers for their support and understanding … I was really prepared and was looking forward for this fight, but I will continue with my training to be ready for what’s next .
Aldana vs Correia was set to take place on the evening’s televised FS1 prelim portion of the card. The UFC has yet to reveal which of the four Fight Pass prelims will get the bump up but it’s safe to assume that it won’t be the “headliner” between flyweights Jose Torres and Alex Perez.
That leaves the following three fights as options:
Bantamweight – 135lbs: Ricardo Ramos vs Kyung Ho Kang
Strawweight – 115lbs: Danielle Taylor vs Weili Zhang
Bantamweight: Marlon “Chito” Vera vs Wuliji Buren
For Correia, she hasn’t fought since July 2017 when she suffered defeat to Holly Holm in the main event of UFC Fight Night 111 in Singapore. Aldana hasn’t fought since earning her first UFC victory over Talita Bernardo at UFC St. Louis in January.
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 7/31/2018