UFC Fight Night Card in Abu Dhabi Loses Late Bout

UFC Fight Night: Ankalaev vs. Guskov took place on Saturday, July 25, at Etihad Arena on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, with the card airing on Paramount+.

The show didn’t go off entirely as planned. A scheduled main-card bout between Islam Dulatov and Wellington Turman was scrapped just hours before fight time, pulling one of the announced matchups off the lineup at the last minute. No further detail on the reasoning behind the cancellation was immediately available.

Late scratches are an unfortunate but familiar wrinkle in combat sports, and a same-day pull like this one tends to scramble a promotion’s plans on the fly — reshuffling the card order, adjusting broadcast windows, and leaving fans who tuned in expecting that pairing without the fight they were promised. For Dulatov and Turman specifically, it also means a delay in whatever momentum either man was hoping to build with a win on a UFC Fight Night slate.

Abu Dhabi has long served as one of the UFC’s go-to international hubs, particularly for cards that need a neutral, made-for-TV setting away from the promotion’s usual U.S. bases. Fight Island earned its reputation during the pandemic era as a reliable venue when travel restrictions made other locations difficult, and Etihad Arena has remained in the rotation for Fight Night events since.

As is typical with late-breaking fight-week news, more specifics on why the Dulatov–Turman bout came off the card may surface in the days ahead, whether that’s an injury, weight issue, or something else entirely. Until an official explanation is provided, the removal stands as the headline storyline out of an otherwise standard Fight Night broadcast.

PW Exclusive will continue to track any updates on the sidelined matchup and whether a rebooking becomes part of the conversation moving forward.