Visa issues force UFC to make changes to UFC Fight Night 70

The UFC was forced to make multiple changes to next week’s UFC Fight Night 70 card in Hollywood, Florida due to an issue affecting the Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs visa system and a technical problem with the Consular Consolidated Database.UFC-Fight-Night-Logo

UFC Fight Night 70 was expected to serve as The Ultimate Fighter Brazil 4 Finale, with the bantamweight and lightweight finals scheduled for the card. Due to the visa issues, both of these tournament finals have been moved to UFC 190 on August 1 in Brazil.

The original co-main event of this fight card was a welterweight bout between Erick Silva and Rick Story. This fight is no longer on the card and UFC officials are discussing options for those fighters at this time. Also, the bantamweight bout between Rani Yahya and Masanori Kanehara has been moved to UFC Fight Night 71 on July 15 in San Diego.

The new co-main event of the fight card will be a previously scheduled welterweight bout for the card as Lorenz Larkin meets Santiago Ponzinibbio. Along with these changes, the UFC has added three new fights to the card and the matchups are Alex Oliveira vs. Joe Merritt, Leandro Silva vs. Lewis Gonzalez, Steve Montgomery vs. Tony Sims.

Fans seeking ticket refunds for the Hollywood, Fla. card can do so at the point of sale and the current UFC Fight Night 70: Machida vs. Romero fight card is below.

Lyoto Machida (22-6) vs. Yoel Romero (9-1)
Lorenz Larkin (15-4, 1NC) vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio (20-2)
Antonio Carlos Junior (4-1) vs. Eddie Gordon (7-3)
Steve Bosse (10-1) vs. Thiago Santos (10-3)
Hacran Dias (22-3-1) vs. Levan Makashvili (7-1)
Alex Oliveira (11-2-1, 1 NC) vs. Joe Merritt (6-0)
Leandro Silva (17-2-1, 1 NC) vs. Lewis Gonzalez (10-1)
Steve Montgomery (8-2) vs. Tony Sims (11-2)