UFC 329 loses Ethyn Ewing to injury before McGregor rematch
UFC 329 lost rising bantamweight Ethyn Ewing to an undisclosed injury just days before the July 11 show at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, MMA Fighting reported. Promoters are now hunting a replacement for undefeated Farid Basharat while Conor McGregor's long-awaited rematch with Max Holloway still tops International Fight Week.
The scratch lands less than two weeks out from one of the UFC's biggest cards of the year. Best Fight Picks first flagged the change on social media, and multiple sources with knowledge of the promotion's plans confirmed Ewing's removal to MMA Fighting.
Key Takeaways
- Ethyn Ewing has been pulled from UFC 329 because of an undisclosed injury.
- The UFC is actively seeking a new opponent for 15-0 bantamweight Farid Basharat.
- McGregor vs. Holloway 2 remains the headline bout on July 11 in Las Vegas.
- Official bout order places Gable Steveson's debut against Elisha Ellison on the preliminary card.
- Steveson has widened to a -2800 betting favorite at DraftKings, per Yahoo Sports.
Who was scratched from the UFC 329 card?
Ethyn Ewing, a former A1 Combat champion, was scheduled to face Basharat on the early preliminary portion of UFC 329. The Californian is 2-0 inside the Octagon after a whirlwind start to his UFC tenure.
He made his debut on two days' notice at UFC 322 in November, upsetting Malcolm Wellmaker at Madison Square Garden. In April, he followed with a liver-kick knockout of Rafael Estevam at UFC Vegas 115. Neither bout hinted at durability problems, which makes the timing of this withdrawal especially awkward for fight week planning.
Why does Ewing's injury matter for UFC 329?
Basharat enters the slot as one of the promotion's cleaner undefeated records at 15-0, with a 6-0 mark in the UFC. His most recent outing was a razor-close split decision over Jean Matsumoto at UFC Vegas 113 in February.
Losing a fast-rising opponent like Ewing strips the card of a bantamweight clash that had been building buzz after his short-notice heroics. For an event already orbiting McGregor's first fight since 2021, every late scratch adds another variable to a card the UFC is selling as a centerpiece of Bizarre World fight-week spectacle.
What does the rest of the UFC 329 lineup look like?
Sherdog confirmed the official bout order ahead of the McGregor return. The main card opens with McGregor vs. Holloway, followed by Paddy Pimblett vs. Benoit St. Denis, Mario Bautista vs. Cory Sandhagen, Lone'er Kavanagh vs. Brandon Royval, and King Green vs. Terrance McKinney.
On the preliminary card, Olympic wrestling gold medalist Gable Steveson makes his Octagon debut against Elisha Ellison. Yahoo Sports notes Steveson opened around -1800 and has ballooned to a -2800 favorite at DraftKings, with Ellison at +1300. Ellison was knocked out by Brando Pericic in his lone prior UFC appearance.
Additional prelims include Nikita Krylov vs. Robert Whittaker and Cody Garbrandt vs. Adrian Yanez, according to Sherdog. Steveson told KRQE the stage is big but familiar: pressure makes diamonds.