Interim middleweight bout announced for UFC 213 with Cody Garbrandt sidelined

Per UFC President Dana White, the bantamweight title bout between current title holder Cody Garbrandt and former champion TJ Dillashaw has been deleted from UFC 213. Garbrandt’s removal from the card, due to a back injury, has been rumored for the past couple of weeks; a report from ESPN’s Brett Okamoto confirmed those rumors. 

A newly announced interim middleweight title bout pitting Yoel Romero against Robert Whittaker will be inserted into the co-main event slot of the card. The women’s bantamweight title match between Amanda Nunes and Valentina Shevchenko will now main event the card. This will mark the 2nd straight year that Nunes has main evented the promotions annual International Fight Week PPV. 

White also revealed that Dillashaw will now face UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson in August instead of waiting for Garbrandt to recover. Dillashaw, a bantamweight by trade, will be the most credible threat by far to challenge for Johnson’s title. DJ recently tied Anderson Silva’s record of 10 consecutive title defenses by defeating Wilson Reis last month without breaking a sweat. 

Here is your updated card for UFC 213 ‘Nunes vs. Shevchenko II’ as it stands tonight:

UFC 213
July 8, 2017
T-Mobile Arena

Women’s Bantamweight Championship
Amanda Nunes (c) (14-4) vs. Valentina Shevchenko (14-2)

Interim Middleweight Championship
Yoel Romero (13-1) vs. Robert Whittaker (18-4)

Welterweight Bout
Robbie Lawler (27-11) vs. Donald Cerrone (32-8)

Heavyweight Bout
Fabricio Werdum (21-6-1) vs. Alistair Overeem (42-15)

Lightweight Bout
Anthony Pettis (19-6) vs. Jim Miller (28-9)

Heavyweight Bout
Travis Browne (18-6-1) vs. Oleksiy Oliynyk (51-10-1)

Heavyweight Bout
Daniel Omielanczuk (19-7-1) vs. Curtis Blaydes (7-1)

Middleweight Bout
Thiago Santos (14-5) vs. Gerald Meerschaert (26-8)