UFC 334 Loses Another Fighter to Injury One Month Before MSG Fight Card

Next month’s highly-anticipated UFC 334 card is officially one bout lighter after two fighters were forced to withdraw with injuries.

Scheduled to take place at the iconic Madison Square Garden in New York City on November 14, the main event of UFC 334 will see Ciryl Gane kick off his reign as undisputed heavyweight champion when he takes on undefeated contender Josh Hokit.

The co-main event is arguably an even more significant title bout, as reigning UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Kayla Harrison is finally set to square off with returning UFC Hall of Famer Amanda Nunes.

Nazim Sadykhov Withdraws From UFC 334 With Injury

UFC 334 was previously at full capacity with 14 scheduled fights, but last month Jefferson Nascimento was forced to withdraw from a lightweight matchup with Nazim Sadykhov due to injury.

News Nascimento’s withdrawal still left enough time for the UFC to potentially find a replacement opponent for Sadykhov, but this week “Black Wolf” informed fans that he’s also dealing with an injury and won’t be fighting at Madison Square Garden.

“Salam guys. Good news and bad news. Bad news is I won’t be fighting in MSG. I suffered an injury on the first days of camp and have been dealing with them for over 5 weeks now. Initially the plan was to work around it and go and fight anyway. My opponent withdrew due to injury so myself and my team decided to let the UFC know to not find a replacement. Good news is I won’t need any surgeries or prolonged recoveries. I will deal with this injury and jump back in as soon as possible. Thank you to all who are with me, see you all soon”

"Black Wolf" Was Looking to Snap First Two-Fight Skid of MMA Career

A veteran of seven UFC fights, Sadykhov compiled a 6-1 record before earning a shot at a UFC contract on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2022.

After impressing Dana White with a third-round knockout of Ahmad Hassanzada, Sadykhov made his UFC debut the following year and stopped Evan Elder before he also submitted Terrance McKinney to open his UFC career with back-to-back wins.

Nazim Sadykhov (red gloves) looks on before fighting Viacheslav Borshchev (blue gloves) during UFC 295 at Madison Square Garden. | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

The 32-year-old closed out the year with a majority draw against Viacheslav Borshchev that earned Sadykhov his second “Fight of the Night” bonus, and it was more than a year before he returned to action and secured another finish against Ismael Bonfim.

Nazim Sadykhov (red gloves) fights Viacheslav Borshchev (blue gloves) during UFC 295 at Madison Square Garden. | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

Sadykhov picked up his fourth stoppage out of five UFC appearances when he also knocked out Nikolas Motta in June of last year, but the 32-year-old now finds himself on a two-fight skid after Fares Ziam and Matheus Camilo both finished him in his two most recent outings.

Nazim Sadykhov (red gloves) fights Fares Ziam (blue gloves) during UFC 323 at T-Mobile Arena. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

With Sadykhov now officially off UFC 334, any potentially replacement fight the UFC may put together to round out the card would see both combatants step in on relatively short notice.

UFC 334 Fight Card

Main Event: Ciryl Gane vs. Josh Hokit – For the UFC Heavyweight Championship

Co-Main Event: Kayla Harrison vs. Amanda Nunes - For the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship

Luis Gurule vs. Bilal Hasan

Caio Borralho vs. Yousri Belgaroui

Uros Medic vs. Kevin Holland

Adrian Yanez vs. Juan Diaz

Stephen Thompson vs. Charles Radtke

Drew Dober vs. Chris Duncan

Jim Miller vs. Terrance McKinney

Macy Chiasson vs. Bia Mesquita

Donte Johnson vs. Cesar Almeida

Melquizael Costa vs. Jared Gordon

Evan Elder vs. Samuel Sanches

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