UFC 287 loses heavyweight bout minutes before event

UFC 287 lost a fight minutes before the preliminary card began Saturday at Kaseya Center in Miami.

Due to an undisclosed medical issue with Chase Sherman, his heavyweight bout against Karl Williams was canceled, UFC lead commentator Jon Anik announced at the start of the broadcast.

A person with knowledge of the situation told MMA Junkie that Williams was compensated despite the fight cancellation.

Had he competed, Sherman (16-11 MMA, 4-10 UFC) would’ve looked to get back in the win column after a loss to Waldo Cortes-Acosta in November. The defeat was his fifth in his most recent six fights.

Williams (8-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) stepped in on short notice in place of fan-favorite Chris Barnett, who withdrew from a matchup vs. Sherman for undisclosed reasons. Williams made his UFC debut March 11 when he defeated Lukasz Brzeski by unanimous decision.

With the cancellation, the UFC 287 lineup now includes:

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)

• Champ Alex Pereira vs. Israel Adesanya – for middleweight title
• Gilbert Burns vs. Jorge Masvidal
• Rob Font vs. Adrian Yanez
• Kevin Holland vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio
• Christian Rodriguez vs. Raul Rosas Jr.

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN, 8 p.m. ET)

• Kelvin Gastelum vs. Chris Curtis
• Luana Pinheiro vs. Michelle Waterson-Gomez
• Gerald Meerschaert vs. Joe Pyfer
• Cynthia Calvillo vs. Loopy Godinez

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 6:30 p.m. ET)

• Ignacio Bahamondes vs. Trey Ogden
• Steve Garcia vs. Shayilan Nuerdanbieke
• Jaqueline Amorim vs. Sam Hughes

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 287.