UFC Vegas 97 loses Ovince Saint Preux vs. Ryan Spann due to illness

UFC Vegas 97 is down a bout.

Promotion officials announced Wednesday that Ovince Saint Preux has been removed from his light heavyweight matchup against Ryan Spann due to illness. As a result, the card is expected to proceed forward with a 12-fight lineup.

A one-time UFC interim title challenger, Saint Preux (27-17) had fallen on hard times in recent years but rebounded to win two of his past three octagon appearances, sandwiching split decisions over Mauricio Rua and Kennedy Nzechukwu between a 49-second knockout loss to Philipe Lins.

Spann (21-10) remains in the midst of a tough run of his own. The 33-year-old Contender Series product has dropped three straight bouts at the hands of Nikita Krylov, Anthony Smith, and Bogdan Guskov, the last of which ended via second-round knockout.

UFC Vegas 97 takes place Sept. 7 at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas. A welterweight matchup between one-time title challenger Gilbert Burns and Sean Brady headlines the event.