Walt Harris vs. Josh Parisian Removed from Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 49 Card

Walt Harris’ return to mixed martial arts will have to wait for another day.

The heavyweight bout between Harris and Josh Parisian has been pulled from Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 49 event. MMAFighting.com was first to report the cancellation. UFC on ESPN 49 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a women’s bantamweight clash between Holly Holm and Mayra Bueno Silva. The main card airs on ESPN and ESPN+ at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT, while prelims stream on ESPN and ESPN+ beginning at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT. Harris vs. Parisian was slated for the six-bout main draw.

Harris was recently seen training with Jon Jones ahead of “Bones’” heavyweight championship victory over Ciryl Gane at UFC 285. “The Big Ticket” last appeared at UFC Fight Night 189 on June 5, 2021, when he suffered a third-round technical knockout defeat to Marcin Tybura — his third consecutive setback within the Las Vegas-based promotion. Harris enjoyed his greatest success in the UFC during a four-bout unbeaten run from June 2018 to July 2019. The 39-year-old owns a 13-10 career mark, with all of his triumphs coming via knockout or technical knockout.

A former competitor on Dana White’s Contender Series, Parisian is 2-3 in UFC competition. In his first outing of 2023, the Scorpion Fighting System representative dropped a unanimous verdict against Jamal Pogues at UFC Fight Night 219 on Feb. 18.

Update: On Wednesday afternoon, Harris took to social media to reveal that an "issue" regarding his most recent USADA test led to the bout being scrapped. According to "The Big Ticket," he was flagged for a supplement that he had trusted his entire career. However, it was not USADA approved.

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— Walt Harris (@thebigticket205) July 12, 2023