UFC St. Petersburg has lost one of its bouts less than 24 hours before fight day.
Devin Clark announced Friday evening on Instagram that his light heavyweight fight against newcomer Ivan Shtyrkov has been cancelled. UFC officials have not yet confirmed the news.
Clark said in a video that Shytyrkov fell ill and has been subsequently hospitalized. No other details were given. Shytyrkov or his team have yet to comment on the withdrawal.
“Unfortunately, no fight tomorrow,” Clark said. ... “Hopefully I’ll get rescheduled soon. Onto the next one.”
Clark, initially scheduled to fight Abdul Kerim-Edilov on the card, was looking to bounce back in St. Petersburg from a loss to Aleksandar Rakic last December at UFC 231. The 29-year-old has dropped two of his last three fights, which date back to late 2017, and is 4-3 in the Octagon overall.
Shtyrkov was expected to step inside the UFC cage for the first time against Clark. The Russian fighter is undefeated at 16-0-1, and holds notable victories over Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva, Thiago Silva, Fabio Maldonado, Jeff Monson, Satoshi Ishii, and Ricco Rodriguez.
UFC St. Petersburg, which takes place Saturday at Yubileyny Sports Palace, is headlined by a heavyweight bout between Alistair Overeem and Alexey Oleinik. The main card airs on ESPN+ while the prelims are on ESPN2.