Less than a day before the fight, the Ultimate Fighting Championship appears to have lost a main card bout on its St. Petersburg event.
On his Instagram late Friday, Devin Clark (9-3) posted a video claiming his opponent Ivan Shtyrkov (16-0-1) has been hospitalized and their bout has been scratched. They were scheduled to fight in less than a day, at UFC Fight Night 149 on April 20 at the Yubileyny Sports Complex in St. Petersburg, Russia. It is extremely unlikely Clark will stay on the card.
Clark stated:
“Hey everyone, I just wanted to thank you all for your love and support, but unfortunately my fight here in Russia has been cancelled. My opponent, he got sick — he’s in the hospital now — so yeah, unfortunately no fight tomorrow. But, I just…thank you so much for your love and support. It means a lot, and hopefully I’ll get rescheduled soon, and on to the next one. Thank you guys, have a good night.”
Clark was originally scheduled to face Abdul-Kerim Edilov at this event, but the Chechen fighter had to withdraw after suffering an injury. In his six UFC bouts, Clark has won three decisions among three stoppage losses, most recently losing by knockout to Aleksandar Rakic in December.
Shtyrkov was preparing to make his Octagon debut unbeaten as a professional in 17 fights since making his debut in mid-2015. The lone blemish on his record came in a draw against Geronimo dos Santos at a Russian event in May 2018. Across his career, the “Ural Hulk” has racked up 12 finishes including eight in the first round.
UFC Fight Night 149, also known as UFC on ESPN+ 7, will take place on April 20 at the Yubileyny Sports Complex in St. Petersburg, Russia. Headlining the event will be a heavyweight tilt between Alistair Overeem and Alexey Oleynik. Serving as the co-headliner will be Islam Makhachev facing off against the debuting Arman Tsarukyan.