Danaa Batgerel won’t be fighting Oct. 3 for reasons outside of his control.
Originally scheduled to fight Kyler Phillips in a bantamweight bout, Batgerel (7-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) has been removed from the card due to Mongolia’s travel restrictions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The UFC is seeking a short-notice replacement to fight Phillips (7-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC).
Multiple people with knowledge of the situation informed MMA Junkie of Batgerel’s withdrawal but asked to remain anonymous since the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. Phillips first revealed the news in an interview with The MMA Report.
Batgerel most recently competed at UFC 248 in March. That night, Batgerel picked up his first promotional win by knockout, finishing Guido Cannetti with strikes in Round 1.
Almost a year after inking his UFC deal, Phillips made his promotional debut at UFC on ESPN+ 27 in February. He defeated Gabriel Silva by unanimous decision and earned “Fight of the Night” honors in the process.
With the change, the Oct. 3 lineup includes:
- Irene Aldana vs. Holly Holm
- Germaine de Randamie vs. Julianna Pena
- Carlos Condit vs. Court McGee
- Loma Lookboonmee vs. Jinh Yu Frey
- Yorgan De Castro vs. Carlos Felipe
- Heili Alateng vs. Casey Kenney
- Tom Breese vs. Roman Kopylov
- Kyler Phillips vs. TBA
- Jessin Ayari vs. Luigi Vendramini
- Nassourdine Imavov vs. Jordan Williams
- Dusko Todorovic vs. Dequan Townsend