Light heavyweight contender Volkan Oezdemir will no longer fight Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 227 on Aug. 4 because of a broken nose, multiple sources told ESPN.
The UFC is looking for a replacement. If an opponent is found, it will be Gustafsson's fifth potential foe for the card, after the promotion's attempts to book bouts versus Luke Rockhold, Yoel Romero, Ovince Saint Preux and lastly Oezdemir all fell through.
Oezdemir (15-2) most recently competed for the UFC's light heavyweight title in January. In that fight, Daniel Cormier retained the belt via second-round TKO. Oezdemir won his previous five fights.
Gustafsson (18-4) is coming off a fifth-round knockout of Glover Teixeira in May 2017. A win at UFC 227 could have propelled him back in the light heavyweight title picture, quite possibly in a rematch with Cormier, whom he lost by split decision in 2015.