Johnny Eduardo out of UFC Vegas 22 fight with Anthony Birchak
Johnny Eduardo won’t be making his UFC return this Saturday in Las Vegas.
The experienced MMA veteran was booked to face Anthony Birchak in the preliminary portion of UFC Vegas 22, which goes down March 20 at the UFC APEX, but was unable to travel to the United States due to visa issues, MMA Fighting has learned.
According to sources, the UFC is attempting to find a new opponent to face Birchak on Saturday.
Eduardo (28-12) hasn’t competed in 33 months, when he lost via second-round submission to bantamweight prospect Nathaniel Wood. A MMA fighter since 1996, Eduardo won three of seven under the UFC banner against Manny Gamburyan, Eddie Wineland and Jeff Curran.
Birchak (15-7), who went 2-2 in his first UFC stint between 2014 and 2016, dropped three straight in RIZIN before putting his career back on track in 2018, winning three in a row in Arizona before re-signing with the UFC. In his first fight back to the octagon this past November, Birchak lost via submission to Gustavo Lopez.
UFC Vegas 22 will be headlined by a five-round middleweight showdown between Derek Brunson and Kevin Holland.