Perez (25-9 MMA, 7-5 UFC) was forced out of his Aug. 9 co-main event against Steve Erceg (12-4 MMA, 3-3 UFC) at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Perez confirmed the news on Instagram after an initial report from "The Fight Analyst" on X.

ESPN+ is reportedly down for several users across the United States, with many taking to social media to report they were unable to stream UFC 318.

He faced unbeaten Brazilian slugger Tallison Teixeira, 25, who earned a UFC slot with a win on Dana White's Contender Series and stopped Justin Tafa in just 35 seconds in his official company debut on a pay-per-view undercard five months ago.

One heavyweight who has made a quick impact is Valter Walker. His third straight first-round UFC stoppage win – and third straight by heel hook, a new record – has him onto the chart for the first time and no doubt looking to make a fast climb. Check out all the latest moves in the USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie MMA rankings.

Knockout king Derrick Lewis extended his record by making quick work of Tallison Teixeira in the UFC on ESPN 70 main event.

The UFC 318 prelims were highlighted by a streak of mismatches, which saw the early portion of the card result in a series of finishes. Fans thought the crush-matches would continue into the main card,

UFC on ESPN 70 takes place Saturday (ESPN, ESPN+ ), and you can join us for live round-by-round coverage and official results beginning at 6 p.m. ET (3 p.m. PT). UFC on ESPN 70 takes place at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn.

ESPN is increasing the price for UFC PPVs for the third time, bumping the cost of each pay-per-view card up $5 to $74.99. Sports newsletter 🏈's best, via 📧 Studio IX 🏀⚽️🥇 Club ...