The UFC 321 matchup between Abdul-Kareem Al Selwady and Matheus Camilo has reportedly been cancelled less than 48 hours before the event.
Set to take place at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, UAE on Saturday, UFC 321 is headlined by a heavyweight title bout that will see Tom Aspinall try and solidify his place as the division’s undisputed king when he takes on former interim titleholder Ciryl Gane.
UFC gold will also be on the line in the co-main event when Virna Jandiroba and Mackenzie Dern meet to crown a new strawweight champion, but unfortunately the UFC 321 prelims will apparently be one bout lighter following a report from Marcel Dorff that Al Selwady vs. Camilo has been scrapped.
A former Fury FC lightweight champion, Al Selwady booked his ticket to the UFC when he scored a major upset on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2023 and took a unanimous decision over Cage Warriors star George Hardwick.
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“Pride of Palestine” carried a five-fight wins streak into his promotional debut against Loik Radzhabov in March of last year, but the 30-year-old ended up suffering a knockout-loss during the opening minute of the third round.
Abul-Kareem Selwady fights Loik Radzhabov during his UFC debut. / (Zuffa LLC)
Al Selwady returned to combat sports several months after the Radzhabov loss and won a grappling match at Abu Dhabi Extreme Championship 4, and UFC 321 unfortunately marks the fourth cancelled matchup that he’s experienced dating back to a planned meeting with Guram Kutateladze in August of 2024.
Both Al Selwady and Camilo would have been looking for their first UFC victories on Saturday in Abu Dhabi, as “Jaguar” joined the promotion in May but was submitted by Gabe Green in the second round.
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Prior to his UFC debut, Camilo was on a six-fight win streak that began with four-straight stoppages. Of the Brazilian’s 12 professional MMA fights, only three of those have outings have gone the distance and required the judges’ scorecards.
Matheus Camilo during his UFC debut against Gabe Green. / (Louis Grasse/PxImages)
While it may not be seismic blow to UFC 321, it is unfortunate for the event to lose one of its schedule dfights on such short notice. Provided there are no issues at tomorrow’s weigh-ins, the card will proceed with 13 fights.
• Main Event: Tom Aspinall vs. Ciryl Gane – For the UFC Heavyweight Championship
• Co-Main Event: Virna Jandiroba vs. Mackenzie Dern – For the Vacant UFC Strawweight Championsip
• Umar Nurmagomedov vs. Mario Bautista
• Alexander Volkov vs. Jailton Almeida
• Aleksandr Rakic vs. Azamat Murzakanov
• Nasrat Haqparast vs. Quillan Salkilld
• Ikram Aliskerov vs. Jun Yong Park
• Mateusz Rebecki vs. Ludovit Klein
• Valter Walker vs. Louie Sutherland
• Jose Delgado vs. Nathaniel Wood
• Chris Barnett vs. Hamdy Abedlwahab
• Azat Maksum vs. Mitch Raposo
• Jacqueline Amorim vs. Mizuk Inoue
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