Visa issues scrap Kelvin Gastelum-Nassourdine Imavov bout at UFC 273; Ilir Latifi-Alexey Oleynik fight added to card

Meanwhile, a heavyweight tilt pitting Ilir Latifi against Alexey Oleynik has been added to the UFC 273 bill. Latifi vs. Oleynik was originally slated for UFC on ESPN 33 before Latifi pulled out hours before the card due to illness.

The Las Vegas-based promotion  announced the updates on Monday. UFC 273 takes place at Vystar Veteran’s Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla., on April 9 and is headlined by a featherweight championship clash between Alexander Volkanovski and Chan Sung Jung. In the co-main event, Aljamain Sterling will square off against Petr Yan in a bantamweight title unification bout.

Gastelum has lost five of his last six Octagon appearances, including a unanimous decision defeat to Jared Cannonier in his last outing at UFC on ESPN 29. Imavov is 3-1 in the promotion and is coming off back-to-back triumphs over Ian Heinisch and Edmen Shahbazyan.

Latifi halted a three-bout skid in his last outing, as he garnered a split decision over Tanner Boser at UFC Fight Night 189. Oleynik, meanwhile, has lost three straight, including a decision defeat to Sergey Spivak in his most recent appearance at UFC on ESPN 25.