Donald 'Cowboy' Cerrone is to face a new opponent for his next UFC fight after long-time rival Diego Sanchez was forced to withdraw for an undisclosed reason. 

In his third fight since he broke his nose and suffered a fractured orbital bone in his 40-second loss against Conor McGregor at UFC 246 in January 2020, Cerrone (36-15, 2 NC) was set to put his rivalry to the test with former teammate Sanchez at UFC on ESPN 24 on May 8.

Sources confirmed to GIVEMESPORT that Cerrone is still expected to compete on the card and the hunt for a replacement has already started after "The Nightmare" pulled out of their planned fight with less than a week remaining.

Sanchez (30-13) has not fought since he came up short against Jake Matthews at UFC 253 on Fight Island in September 2020. He lost to Matthews via a lopsided unanimous decision (30–26, 30–26, 30–26). 

As for Cerrone, the 38-year-old American hasn't won a UFC fight since he battered a perennial lightweight contender in "Raging" Al Iaquinta. The former UFC lightweight title challenger lost via unanimous decision to Anthony "Showtime" Pettis (24-11) at UFC 249 in May 2020, making it four losses in as many fights since dominating Iaquinta in 2019. 

A scheduled bout between TJ Dillashaw and Cory Sandhagen has been postponed after the former UFC bantamweight champion was forced to pull out of the potential title eliminator after what he described as an injury suffered during a sparring session. 

Former Invicta FC atomweight champion Michelle Waterson (18-8), of Albuquerque, New Mexico, will now face #6-ranked strawweight Marina Rodriguez (13-1-2), of Brazil, as a replacement.

The card will also include former Legacy FC lightweight champion Diego Ferreira (17-3), of Brazil, defending his place in the rankings against former NCAA Division I champion Gregor Gillespie (13-1), of Long Island, New York, as well as a significant welterweight match between veteran fighters Neil Magny (24-8), of Arvada, Colorado, and Geoff Neal (13-3), of Harker Heights, Texas.