The tragic passing of Allan Nascimento led the UFC to change its plans for a major upcoming show, according to Daniel Cormier.

The mixed martial arts world was shocked by the news of the flyweight’s death this past weekend, after he suffered an apparent heart attack in his sleep.

Per the former two-division world champion, the sad news prompted an immediate change to one of the featured contests on an upcoming pay-per-view event.

Allan Nascimento Passed Away Aged Just 34

(Instagram: Allan Nascimento)

Nascimento had fought in the UFC a little over a month ago.

Taking on Mitch Raposo at UFC Fight Night 279, headlined by Manel Kape vs Kyoji Horiguchi, Nascimento lost the fight by split decision, though had a very impressive 22-7 record nonetheless.

Nascimento has built that record under the stewardship of Chute Boxing Academy, which has produced great champions such as Anderson Silva, Cris Cyborg, Wanderlei Silva, Mauricio Rua and Charles Oliveira, a long-time teammate of Nascimento’s.

The UFC’s current BMF champion and former lightweight champion was supposedly set to fight at UFC 331. However, during a recent episode of his podcast, Cormier suggested that, in light of Nascimento’s passing, plans had understandably changed.

UFC 331 Co-Main Event Changed After Tragic News

UFC 331 is set to take place in Los Angeles in September, headlined by Joshua Van and Alexandra Pantoja for the flyweight championship.

Van already defeated Pantoja at UFC 323, winning just 26 seconds into the fight after an arm injury sustained by the Brazilian. The co-main will see Arman Tsarukyan take on Mauricio Ruffy. Cormier, though, has revealed that it was supposed to be Oliveira standing across from Tsarukyan in the Octagon.

“If I’m being honest, guys, Arman Tsarukyan told me in Abu Dhabi it was going to be him and Oliveira. No BMF title. It was going to be him and Oliveira fighting in Los Angeles,” Cormier explained.

“That’s why I believe at least that we’re not getting that fight because, you know, obviously those guys down there, Oliveira and their team, they’re all so close. So I think that’s why we’re not getting the Charles fight.”

At UFC 300, Tsarukyan defeated Oliveira by split decision in Las Vegas, surviving a number of submission attempts on his way to victory. That fight was pitched as a UFC lightweight title eliminator.

Just hours before his title shot, though, Tsarukyan ended up pulling out just a day before his scheduled fight against Islam Makhachev at UFC 311 in January 2025, citing a back injury. That has left him with work to do to earn his way back into the good books of Dana White and the UFC’s matchmakers to get another opportunity.

A rematch against Oliveira at UFC 331 would have represented a good opportunity for the Armenian to do just that, but his would-be opponent has understandably taken a step back.

‘Do Bronx’ was among a host of fighters to pay tribute to Nascimento after news of his passing was confirmed. Oliveira wrote on social media:

“Today, I lost a brother that gave me fight. Thank you for always being there, for sharing the mats, the training, and everything we’ve been through together.

“I have nothing but gratitude for having you by my side, brother, in training, in our corner, and in all the moments we shared. I love you, man. You were an incredible guy. I can’t believe it. You will be missed a lot.”

Rhea Ripley has issued a fresh update on social media after undergoing surgery on her knee amid her absence from the WWE.

Ripley is the reigning WWE Women’s Champion and one of the biggest names on the SmackDown roster.

But she hasn’t been in action since June when she suffered a knee injury during a WWE live event in Lisbon, Portugal, where she teamed up with Charlotte Flair and Tiffany Stratton. The injury resulted in a meniscus tear that required surgery, keeping her on the sidelines.

Ripley subsequently missed WWE Night of Champions last month and last weekend’s SummerSlam. After failing to return for the promotion’s latest premium live event in Minnesota, the Australian has issued an update on her recovery.

Rhea Ripley Reveals Latest Injury Update After Surgery

Ripley took to social media to announce that she underwent surgery to repair her knee. She revealed that going under the knife was never the first option but admits it was required in this case.

She didn’t clarify as to when she would return to the ring but told her fans, ‘see you down the road’.

The 29-year-old shared an image of her leg in a brace, writing: “Life update. After just under 14 year in wrestling and doing sports my entire life… It’s caught up to me. Surgery was never a first option for me, but it got to the point that it was needed…

“First one down… hopefully no more… I’ve survived, now it’s time to start thriving again so I can get back to what I love to do! See you all down the road.”

WWE Crowned An Interim Women’s Champion at SummerSlam

In Ripley’s absence, WWE crowned an interim Women’s Champion on night two of SummerSlam.

Chelsea Green, Jade Cargill, Lash Legend, Flair and Stratton competed in a five-way ladder match, with Green emerging victorious, setting up a unification bout against Ripley.

On facing Ripley, the Canadian wrestler told Complex Graps: “Look, I said this during the ladder match and I’ll say it again. This is a win-win for me. Because at the end of the day, I was surrounded in that ladder match by… women who had won a bunch of titles.

“And I was out here just scratching and clawing for my life. It’s the same thing with Rhea. Like, she has something to lose, I don’t. I’m just out here trying to do my best. I’m just out here trying to make a moment with this title. She has won multiple championships. She has the company on her back. I’m out here trying to get all these things.

“So if I lose, I lose to quite possibly the greatest female wrestler ever. If she loses to me, she lost to a comedy gal. She lost to the girl from Unreal, she lost to an indie wrestler, she lost to the underdog. And I love that for me. I’m going to go into it, and I’m just going to do my best. That’s all I can do, you know? But I’m going to need a couple of energy drinks before I have to face her. That’s for sure.”

Netflix’s most recent episode of WWE Raw has been edited to cut out a viral clip of a Becky Lynch comment towards Liv Morgan.

This instance, however, isn’t the first time that certain parts of the Raw broadcast have been censored by Netflix, with any reference to X-rated words or events usually cut out.

Occurrences where there is blood are also blocked. For instance, in the main event of the same Raw show between Jacob Fatu and Royce Keys, Keys’ clearly bloodied face was censored on the replay.

In addition, a recent interaction between Brock Lesnar and Oba Femi on the same program was also heavily edited.

Why Netflix Makes Cuts To WWE Programming

WWE programming on Netflix remains TV-PG, family-friendly and advertiser-friendly, maintaining the same content rating used on traditional television since 2008.

For a show to violate the TV-PG rating, it would have to include frequent use of severe profanity, graphic or intentional bloodshed, explicit sexual content and highly suggestive storylines.

Therefore, Keys’ bloodied face and Lynch’s comment would contribute to violating these guidelines.

WWE president Nick Khan and chief content officer Triple H stated that programming would be ‘family-friendly’ ahead of WWE’s move to Netflix in January 2025, but didn’t state how far that description would go.

“We’re not changing the rating of our programming,” Khan said. “So there’s some online chatter about, ‘Oh, it’s going to be R-rated’, or for us old folks, X-rated.

“That’s definitely not happening. It’s family-friendly, multi-generational, advertiser-friendly programming. It’s going to stay that way.”

Lynch made her return to WWE on Monday after a two-month hiatus to confront Morgan and her Judgment Day stablemates Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez.

As the Judgment Day trio left the ring, Lynch stated that Morgan was ‘not the greatest women’s champion in your own group’, referencing current Intercontinental Championship holder Rodriguez.

She then shouted: “You’re not even the greatest women’s champion to sleep with Dominik Mysterio!”

Mysterio and Morgan are in a kayfabe relationship on-screen, with Lynch clearly referencing his previous on-screen relationship with Morgan’s long-time rival Rhea Ripley.

The latter comment quickly went viral on social media, and has racked up over 940,000 views when it was posted on WWE’s X account.

In the replay of Raw that is currently accessible, Lynch’s promo cuts out at the initial ‘not the greatest women’s champion in your own group’ comment.

Instead, the broadcast goes straight to Morgan standing at the end of the entrance ramp as former women’s world champion Stephanie Vaquer makes her return.

With Netflix taking such a strict stance on censorship, it may be wise to watch Raw live as it happens if you want to catch the show each week in its full form.