Hurricane Milton Alters UFC Vegas 98 Heavyweight Bout
Chris Barnett’s planned heavyweight bout with Junior Tafa at the Oct. 12, 2024 Las Vegas card was canceled after Hurricane Milton disrupted the event week. Barnett later returned on short notice in Abu Dhabi to face Kennedy Nzechukwu.
Why Barnett missed the Las Vegas card
The original matchup with Tafa had already replaced Waldo Cortes-Acosta. Then the promotion confirmed Barnett was removed from the bout due to issues related to Hurricane Milton. Sean Sharaf took Barnett’s place against Tafa. The official card update did not give further detail.
Barnett’s next fight
Two weeks later, Barnett stepped in for an injured Justin Tafa to meet Nzechukwu on the Oct. 26 Abu Dhabi card. Nzechukwu stopped him with strikes at 4:27 of the first round. The replacement announcement and official fighter record document the change and result.
What followed
Barnett returned in October 2025 but lost a decision to Hamdy Abdelwahab, then left the promotion after consecutive defeats. He later signed with Power Slap, adding another stop to a combat-sports career that has included MMA, kickboxing and Karate Combat. MMA Fighting reported his release and Power Slap signing.
Sources
Tags: Power Slap, Combat Sports
