Cynthia Calvillo was forced to withdraw from
UFC 254 after testing positive for COVID-19 earlier today, per
@bokamotoESPN.
Lauren Murphy will now face newcomer Liliya Shakirova on Oct. 24 in
Abu Dhabi.— Nick Baldwin (@NickBaldwinMMA)
October 16, 2020
Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on
your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the
ESPN app. The hits keep coming for the
Ultimate Fighting Championship’s next pay-per-view
offering. Due to a failed COVID-19 test, Cynthia
Calvillo has been forced to pull out of her
UFC 254 main card bout against Lauren
Murphy (13-4). The news was first reported by ESPN
on Thursday night, and later confirmed by
Calvillo. Stepping up on just over a week’s notice is newcomer
Liliya
Shakirova (8-1) per theScore.
Shakirova will actually be the second replacement option, as the
first undisclosed opponent also tested positive for COVID-19,
according to
Murphy. It has not yet been made official whether the matchup
will take place at flyweight or a catchweight.
Murphy will be looking to improve her win streak to four and try to
clinch a flyweight title shot with a victory. “Lucky” has rattled
off a trio of wins since August 2019 including a knockout of
Mara
Romero Borella as well as decisions over Andrea Lee
and Roxanne
Modafferi. A one-time Invicta Fighting Championships bantamweight
champ, Murphy came to the UFC in the 135-pound division but lost
three of four to precipitate a move to flyweight. Since then, the
Alaskan has prevailed in four of five bouts.
Shakirova will be making her debut after over a year away from the
sport. The Uzbekistan native has won three straight, including
knockouts of Aigul
Khabirova and Aygul
Abduvakhid in 2018 and 2019, respectively. She started off her
career at a perfect 5-0, with her fifth win coming over current
One Championship competitor Meng Bo, before
dropping a decision to Julia
Borisova in 2018.
UFC 254 is holding itself together at the Flash Forum in Abu Dhabi
on Oct. 24, with a lightweight championship unification match
headlining between champ Khabib
Nurmagomedov and interim titleholder Justin
Gaethje. Drawing the co-main assignment is a potential
middleweight title eliminator bout as Robert
Whittaker faces Jared
Cannonier, while a heavyweight pairing of Alexander
Volkov vs. Walt Harris
anchors the main card.
