"I'm here in Abu Dhabi" - Fighter in second stint with the promotion offers to step in, as hunt for replacement in UFC 308 fight is reportedly on

UFC 308 just suffered a last-minute mishap with just days away from fight day. As it turns out, UFC bantamweight Daniel 'Willycat' Santos was pulled out of his fight against Said Nurmagomedov due to undisclosed reasons.

MMA Orbit reported on the matter on X:

As the UFC scrambles for a replacement, one UFC bantamweight, Vince 'Vandetta' Morales, offered himself on short notice. Morales just fought less than a month ago at UFC Fight Night Paris, losing to Taylor Lapilus via unanimous decision.

Morales posted on X:

"✋I'm here in Abu Dhabi"

We're quite positive that Nurmagomedov would want to fight at UFC 308, given that he has had a full fight camp for it already. Not to mention the fact that he just got back in the winning column last year, defeating Muin Gafurov via a Performance of the Night-winning guillotine choke.

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UFC 308 will feature one of the most explosive fight cards of the year

Although the UFC's trip to Abu Dhabi might lose an explosive bantamweight bout, the full fight card is still one of the best ones the promotion has put together this year.

One fight to look out for is Magomed Ankalaev vs Alexandar Rakic. Ankalaev is largely expected to fight for the belt next if he gets past Rakic in this fight. What's interesting is Ankalaev's wrestling-heavy Sambo background, a style many believe might be the weakness of UFC light-heavyweight champion Alex Pereira.

In the co-main event, UFC middleweight boogeyman Khamzat Chimaev will face former divisional king Robert Whittaker in a bout that has title implications. The fight was rescheduled to UFC 308 after it was scrapped from UFC Saudi Arabia last June.

In the main event, UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria will make the first defense of his throne by trying to derail the hype train of the newly-crowned BMF champ, Max Holloway. Topuria's one-shot KO power will clash with Holloway's legendary swarming strikes and unbreakable grit.

UFC 308 happens inside the iconic Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, UAE, on October 26.