UFC 266 lineup undergoes fight week changes: Karl Roberson out, separate bout rescheduled

UFC 266 looks a little different midway through fight week.

On Wednesday, the promotion announced that Karl Roberson has been removed from his middleweight bout due to illness. In his place, Dana White’s Contender Series alum Cody Brundage steps in to meet Nick Maximov.

The women’s flyweight bout between Manon Fiorot and Mayra Bueno Silva was scrapped from UFC 266 due to COVID-19 protocols. As MMA Junkie previously reported, Fiorot (who is asymptomatic) and her team tested positive for the virus.

The UFC also confirmed that the rematch between Nick Diaz and Robbie Lawler will be contested at middleweight instead of welterweight as originally agreed upon after Diaz asked for the change. Earlier Wednesday, Lawler indicated he had agreed to the last-minute change.

With the changes, here’s the updated UFC 266 lineup:

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

• Champ Alexander Volkanovski vs. Brian Ortega – for featherweight title
• Champ Valentina Shevchenko vs. Lauren Murphy – for women’s flyweight title
• Nick Diaz vs. Robbie Lawler
• Curtis Blaydes vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
• Jessica Andrade vs. Cynthia Calvillo

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

• Marlon Moraes vs. Merab Dvalishvili
• Nasrat Haqparast vs. Dan Hooker
• Shamil Abdurakhimov vs. Chris Daukaus
• Roxanne Modafferi vs. Taila Santos

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

• Uros Medic vs. Jalin Turner
• Cody Brundage vs. Nick Maximov
• Martin Sano vs. Matthew Semelsberger
• Omar Morales vs. Jonathan Pearce