Undisclosed illness cancels bout, shakes up UFC Vegas 61 fight card

UFC Vegas 61 is not off to a great start.

Just hours before the official weigh ins, the promotion was forced to cancel the strawweight contest between Jessica Penne and Tabatha Ricci after Penne was struck down by an undisclosed illness. That leaves the promotion no time to find a replacement for tomorrow night’s (Sat., Oct. 1, 2022) event at APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada.

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EXCITING MIDDLEWEIGHT MATCHUP! Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns to its APEX venue in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Sat., April 6, 2024, with an action-packed, five-round main event featuring No. 7-seeded 185-pound contender, Brendan Allen, running it back with No. 14-ranked Chris Curtis. “Action Man” — who is filling in for the “freak” injured Marvin Vettori — scored an upset win over Allen back in 2021 (watch it). In UFC Vegas 90’s ESPN+-streamed co-main event, former Featherweight hopeful, Alexander Hernandez, looks to get back on track at the expense of dangerous Octagon veteran, Damon Jackson.

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The 39 year-old Penne (14-6) was looking to rebound from a unanimous decision loss to Emily Ducote at UFC on ABC 3 last July. As for Ricci (7-1), 27, she rebounded from a UFC debut loss to Manon Fiorot to capture consecutive victories over Maria Oliveira and Polyana Viana.

No word yet if the promotion will look to rebook this contest for an upcoming card.

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Vegas 61 fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the ESPN+ preliminary card bouts at 4 p.m. ET, followed by the ESPN+ main card start time at 7 p.m. ET.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC Vegas 61 news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive here. For the updated and finalized “Dern vs. Yan” fight card and ESPN+ lineup click here.