UFC 262 loses another major main card fight

UFC 262 has been hit with another major blow as yet another fight from the main card has been postponed to a later date. UFC middleweights Jack Hermansson and Edman Shabazayen's fight will no longer take place this weekend.

This is the second major fight on the UFC 262 card to be postponed. Nate Diaz and Leon Edwards were set to make history and take part in the promotion's first-ever five-round non-title co-main event. However, Diaz picked up an injury that pushed the bout back to UFC 263.

As per MMA DNA's Marcel Dorff, Shabazayen and Hermansson's fight is currently set to be rebooked for the following weekend at UFC Vegas 27. Next weekend's care will be headlined by Rob Font and Cody Garbrandt.

The reason for the fight being rescheduled is currently unknown. However, it appears to mirror recent fights that have been canceled and then rapidly rescheduled due to symptomless positive COVID-19 tests.

Unfortunate news.Jack Hermansson vs. Edmen Shahbazyan is not happening at #UFC262. BUT!!!! The fight has been rescheduled for May 22nd (one week later).Reason why unknown atm. pic.twitter.com/xGkJ7uz0uH

— MaRCeL DoRFF 🇳🇱🇮🇩 (@BigMarcel24) May 10, 2021

UFC 262's star power dwindling

With Shabazayen and Hermansson's fight falling off, UFC 262's main card has been cut down to a mere four fights. The card is still headlined by the much -anticipated lightweight title fight between Michael Chandler and Charles Olivera.

Their fellow 155-lbers, Beneil Dariush and Tony Ferguson, feature in the card's co-main event, in the place of the Diaz and Edwards fight. Shane Burgos vs. Edson Barboza and Katlyn Chookagian vs. Vivianne Araujo make up the rest of the main card.

The preliminary bouts still feature many fan favorites, which may well be used to bolster interest in the main card further. The featured prelim between UFC veteran Jacare Souza and DWCS prospect Andre Muniz is a likely candidate to be promoted to the main card.

Hermansson vs. Shabazayen

The fight between Hermansson and Shabazayen will fortunately still happen, albeit a week later. The fight is a must-win for both men should they wish to mount a title run in 2021.

Shabazayen appeared to be unstoppable during his initial run in the UFC. Coming off a round-one KO victory in his first fight in the organization, Shabazayen clinically defeated every man who stepped in front of him in the Octagon. That was until he met middleweight veteran Derek Brunson.

Brunson dominated Shabazayen with a combination of heavy strikes and wrestling. Shabazayen clearly wasn't ready for the step-up in competition and was TKO'd in the third round of the fight.

Meanwhile, Hermansson has been competing with the upper echelons of the middleweight division for some time now, with mixed success. He has picked up wins over Kelvin Gastelum and Jacare Souza but was defeated over five rounds in his most recent bout against Marvin Vettori.