Chase Sherman has withdrawn from the heavyweight contest against Karl Williams at UFC 287 due to a medical issue.
Karl Williams and Chase Sherman will no longer be fighting at UFC 287. At the start of the early preliminary broadcast for Saturday’s pay-per-view event at Kaseya Center in Miami, it was announced that Sherman has been forced to withdraw from the heavyweight contest due to a medical issue. The bout was originally scheduled to take place at the start of the second set of prelims.
With Sherman’s withdrawal, a strawweight bout between Cynthia Calvillo and Lupita Godinez will now open that portion of the card. It is currently unknown if the Williams vs. Sherman fight will be rescheduled for another card.
Williams (8-1) had stepped in on less than a week’s notice to replace Chris Barnett. The recent Contender Series signing made a successful UFC debut this past March with a unanimous decision win over Lukasz Brzeski. On the other hand, Sherman (16-11) was looking for a fresh start in his 2023 campaign after going 1-3 in the previous year, with his most recent loss being a unanimous decision to Waldo Cortes-Acosta.