Ewing injury forces UFC 329 bantamweight off card, Basharat seeks replacement

Ethyn Ewing has been pulled from UFC 329 after suffering an undisclosed injury, leaving Farid Basharat without an opponent for their scheduled bantamweight clash at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on July 11. Best Fight Picks first reported Ewing’s withdrawal, with the UFC now reportedly seeking a short-notice replacement for Basharat on the early preliminary card.

The timing is a blow to one of the promotion’s more quietly compelling prospects. Ewing, nicknamed “The Professor Finesser”, had strung together 10 consecutive victories after losing his first two professional fights, with two of those wins coming inside the UFC. He announced himself emphatically at UFC 322 by upsetting the highly-regarded Malcolm Wellmaker, then backed it up with a third-round KO of Rafael Estevam at UFC Fight Night 272 on April 4. That third UFC outing will now have to wait.

Basharat, meanwhile, carries a pristine 15-0 professional record into his search for a new dance partner. The 28-year-old has gone 6-0 inside the octagon, most recently earning a split-decision victory over Jean Matsumoto at UFC Fight Night 266 on February 7. Whether the promotion can find a credible replacement on short notice remains to be seen.

UFC 329 is headlined by a welterweight clash between Max Holloway and Conor McGregor.