Contender Series Brazil takes hit with visa issues, several fights canceled

At least seven Brazilians were removed from upcoming Contender Series cards.

The UFC is actively searching for multiple replacements after several Brazilian fighters found roadblocks when applying for a visa to compete in the Brazilian version of Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series in August, multiple sources told MMA Fighting.

The UFC has decided to hold three separate cards of the Contender Series exclusively with Brazilian athletes, but chose to film the events in Las Vegas instead of doing it in Brazil.

With a little over a month before the cards, planned for the second week of August, MMA Fighting has learned that at least seven fighters had visas denied and were pulled from their bouts.

Duda Santana (3-0) and Luana Carolina (4-1), who were fighting each other in the women’s bantamweight division, are both out with visa problems. Middleweights Diego Henrique da Silva (8-3, 1 no-contest) vs. Fabio Aguiar (11-1) was also scrapped after they had their visas denied. Joao Zaiden (7-0), Rodrigo Nascimento (5-0) and Daniel Pereira (7-2) are also out of the show.

The number of fighters affected could still increase since not every athlete has been notified of the issue.