Mark Hunt Pulled From UFC Fight Night Sydney, Replaced By Fabricio Werdum

MMA

Next month’s UFC Fight Night Sydney card has undergone a huge change as Mark Hunt has been pulled from his main event fight against Marcin Tybura.

It was the UFC that pulled Hunt from the event due to “medical concerns,” but what those concerns are have yet to be revealed.

Ciryl Gane Bidding to Be Back in Heavyweight Title Picture at UFC 310

Hunt is going to be replaced by the man who defeated him for the UFC Interim Heavyweight Title at UFC 180 and that is Fabricio Werdum.

Here is the UFC’s statement on the matter:

Due to medical concerns, heavyweight contender Mark Hunt has been removed from his UFC Fight Night main event bout against Marcin Tybura on Nov. 19.

Stepping in for Hunt against the No. 8-ranked Tybura at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia will be former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum, who is coming off a 65-second submission win over Walt Harris last Saturday in Las Vegas. In Tybura, the Brazilian star will be facing a surging contender who has won three straight, most recently defeating Andrei Arlovski in June.

After learning of his removal from the card, a furious Hunt posted the following on Instagram:

Tybura (16-2-0) enters the fight on the strength of a three fight winning streak and that includes a win over former UFC Heavyweight Champion Andrei Arlovski. Tybura has only suffered a single defeat under the UFC banner and that came to Timothy Johnson at UFC Fight Night 86. Tybura is also a longtime veteran of the M-1 Challenge promotion, winning seven of the eight fights he competed at in the organization.

Werdum (22-7-1) has rotated wins and losses in his last five UFC appearances, with his last bout being a submission win over Walt Harris at UFC 216. Werdum is a former UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion and a former UFC Heavyweight Champion. The Brazilian became the interim champion at UFC 180 and the undisputed heavyweight champion at UFC 188. Werdum is also going to be headlining his first UFC card in over a year, as his last main event was a loss to Stipe Miocic at UFC 198.

UFC Fight Night: Sydney takes place on Saturday, November 18 from the Qudus Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia with Fabricio Werdum and Marcin Tybura headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, which airs live on Fox Sports 1.

Get exclusive pro wrestling content on Fightful Select, our premium news service! Click here to learn more.