UFC Vegas 123: Bekoev out after anaphylactic reaction; Leal, Bolanos withdraw

UFC Vegas 123 at the Meta APEX has lost three of its original fighters in a week, and the most alarming exit was Azamat Bekoev's. The 30-year-old Russian middleweight said on X that he suffered an anaphylactic reaction a couple of days before his post, reached a CVS within minutes for medication, then passed out inside the store and needed an ambulance.

Bekoev apologized to Andre Petroski, the UFC and fans, said he had never pulled out of a fight before, and promised to be back soon. He gave no trigger for the reaction and no return date. He would have been fighting for the first time since a third-round guillotine loss to Tresean Gore in April, which followed a stoppage loss to Yousri Belgaroui in October 2025, according to MiddleEasy.

Petroski, 35, will not take a replacement on Halloween. Bloody Elbow reported he is now on the Nov. 7 card against Kondratavicius. He is also trying to halt a skid: MiddleEasy lists a May loss to Cody Brundage, who finished him with strikes in round two.

The welterweight and lightweight undercard changed too. Leal left his bout with Randy Brown, and Jacobe Smith, a 13-0 Contender Series signee, stepped in on short notice. Yardbarker MMA reported Leal withdrew over a leg injury and that Bolanos left his fight with Francis Marshall after a training cut. Marshall now meets Dakota Hope on the prelims.

Smith, 33, is a former Oklahoma State wrestler with 11 stoppages in 13 wins, and he took the fight less than two weeks after knocking out Bruce Whitehead in round one at UFC 332. Brown is on back-to-back losses for the first time in his career and faces a heavy betting underdog's task.

The main event is unchanged: Renato Moicano, 37 and coming off an April submission win over Chris Duncan, meets Tom Nolan, 26, who brings a five-fight winning streak into his first UFC main event.

On the prelims, Julian Erosa, 37, said he picked this fight as his last because a win would only make him want another. Watch for further card changes this week and any update on Bekoev's recovery.