Ovince Saint Preux: Ilir Latifi injured, UFC on FOX 27 co-headliner scrapped

There goes another UFC co-main event.

Ovince Saint Preux, who was set to fight Ilir Latifi in next week’s UFC on FOX 27 co-headliner, tweeted tonight that the bout is off because of an injury to Latifi.

Via Twitter:

UFC on FOX 27 takes place Jan. 27 at Spectrum Center in Charlotte. The main card will air on FOX after prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass.

Saint Preux (22-10 MMA, 10-5 UFC) vs. Latifi (13-5 MMA, 6-3 UFC) already is the second co-main event of the year to fall, with Vitor Belfort-Uriah Hall being scrapped this past Sunday at UFC Fight Night 124 when Hall failed to step on the scale.

The news is unfortunate for both Saint Preux and Latifi. They called each other out late last year after wins and finally got their wish to fight each other in November. Saint Preux’s originally requested the bout for UFC 219 to close out 2017, but that never came to be.

It’s clear Saint Preux is hopeful to remain on the card against a replacement opponent, though it’s unknown what the UFC’s plans are.

The resurgent Saint Preux is on a three-fight streak that includes two straight fight-night bonuses. Most recently, he won with a head-kick KO of Corey Anderson at UFC 217 in November. Prior to that, he had back-to-back Von Flue choke finishes of Marcos Rogerio de Lima and Yushin Okami.

Latifi was looking to win his second straight after getting back on track in September with a unanimous-decision win over Tyson Pedro at UFC 215.

The UFC on FOX 27 lineup now includes:

MAIN CARD, FOX, 8 P.M. ET

• Ronaldo Souza vs. Derek Brunson
• Ovince Saint Preux vs. TBA
• Dennis Bermudez vs. Andre Fili
• Gregor Gillespie vs. Jordan Rinaldi

PRELIMINARY CARD, FS1, 5 p.m. ET

• Bobby Green vs. Erik Koch
• Mirsad Bektic vs. Godofredo Pepey
• Mara Romero Borella vs. Katlyn Chookagian
• Juliana Lima vs. Randa Markos
• Vinc Pichel vs. Joaquim Silva

PRELIMINARY CARD, UFC Fight Pass, 3:30 p.m. ET

• Justine Kish vs. Ji Yeon Kim
• Niko Price vs. George Sullivan
• Frank Camacho vs. Drew Dober

For more on UFC on FOX 27, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.