UFC 244: Darren Till faces visa issues; Gastelum refuses backup

Darren Till, who is all set to make his debut at 185 pounds in the co-main event of UFC 244 is yet to arrive in New York for the fight week. His trip to the pre-match affairs stateside has been delayed over visa issues, which now puts the co-main event showdown with Kelvin Gastelum in doubt. The issues were allegedly in connection with his arrest in the summer in the Canary Islands.

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Where does this leave Kelvin Gastelum?

Though it’s expected that Gastelum's fight against Darren Till will be moved forward as it has been planned, the UFC has also tabbed a back-up fighter just in case of any last-minute issues around visa or weight cutting for Darren Till. The promotion generally tabs a back-up fighter to protect itself in case a fight is likely to fall off.

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UFC News: Middleweight contender Jared Cannonier to fight Kelvin Gastelum if Till falls off the UFC 244 card

Jared Cannonier is now on board and will be cutting weight ahead of Friday morning in New York for filling in the UFC 244 co-main event at Madison Square Garden. It has also been confirmed that Cannonier is indeed in New York City and is ready to jump in on short notice.

Jared Cannonier was last seen in the cage at UFC Copenhagen where he halted Jack Hermansson’s title shot run in a memorable fashion.

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Kelvin Gastelum refuses to fight back-up

Kelvin engaged with the media on Thursday during the UFC 244 open workouts and said it would not be fair for him to take on Jared Cannonier on such short notice, given he has specifically prepared for a different fighter. He also expressed that he would be open to a match against Cannonier, but only under reasonable circumstances which does not apply to UFC 244.

The fight will mark the official UFC middleweight debut for Darren Till and it will be very disappointing if the fight does not happen. Till has not attended yesterday's open workouts and media day today and his fallout from the co-main event will ultimately be Cannonier’s gain if he is to step in and secure a win again Gastelum.

Until Friday, UFC fans will have to wait and see what happens!

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