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Julija Stoliarenko has UFC fight canceled after collapsing
Julija Stoliarenko (red) fights Leah Letson (blue) during a featherweight bout at The Pearl.  Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

Julija Stoliarenko has UFC fight canceled after collapsing twice

Women's bantamweight Julija Stoliarenko won't be competing on Saturday's UFC Fight Night card. 

As Marc Raimondi noted for ESPN, Stoliarenko collapsed multiple times attempting to weigh-in for Saturday's showdown with Julia Avila (8-2-0) in Las Vegas. 

Even though Stoliarenko clearly struggled on the stage, officials allowed her to prove she made weight before she was helped to the ground by a UFC security team member. The 27-year-old was transported to a local hospital, and the promotion scrapped the fight because of what were referred to as "weight-cutting issues." 

Weight-cutting has been a hot-button topic in mixed martial arts and combat sports for decades, and many observers and even some fighters believe organizations such as the Nevada State Athletic Commission and United States Anti-Doping Agency should ban the practice before the unthinkable occurs in front of cameras ahead of a major event. 

Over the past six months, Matt Schnell and Bobby Green of the UFC both encountered health scares related to cutting pounds ahead of weigh-ins. 

Stoliarenko fell to Yana Kunitskaya in August after securing five straight victories before that contest. Avila, meanwhile, lost to Sijara Eubanks in September in her most recent UFC appearance. 

Zac Wassink

Zac Wassink is a longtime sports news writer and PFWA member who began his career in 2006 and has had his work featured on Yardbarker, MSN, Yahoo Sports and Bleacher Report. He is also a football and futbol aficionado who is probably yelling about Tottenham Hotspur at the moment and who chanted for Matt Harvey to start the ninth inning of Game 5 of the 2015 World Series at Citi Field. You can find him on X at @ZacWassink

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