Injury Forces UFC 289 Matchup To Be Rescheduled for August
The light heavyweight matchup between Khalil Rountree Jr. and Chris Daukaus has been rebooked for a UFC Fight Night on August 12 after originally being scheduled for this weekend’s UFC 289.
The bout was set to be one of the highlights of the UFC 289 prelims before it was announced that Daukaus had been forced to withdraw with an injury, but fans can still look forward to seeing the two light heavyweights share the cage in just a couple of months.
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The fight is a particularly important one for Daukaus, who previously held a Top 15 ranking in the UFC’s heavyweight division but has elected to drop down a weight class following a run of difficult results.
The 33-year-old hit the ground running when he joined the UFC in 2020 and knocked out his first four opponents, but he’s now lost three fights in a row against top heavyweight competition and was most recently stopped by Jairzinho Rozenstruik in just 23 seconds.
Daukaus won’t be getting an easy welcome to his new weight class, as Rountree is currently the UFC’s #13-ranked light heavyweight and is in arguably the best form of his career.
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“The War Horse” had an up-and-down start to his UFC career after appearing on Season 23 of The Ultimate Fighter, but after suffering back-to-back losses against Ion Cutelaba and Marcin Prachnio he’s now rattled off three wins in a row. That current run began with the brutal side kick that blew out Modestas Bukauskas’ knee in 2021, and after finishing Karl Roberson with strikes Rountree most recently won a split decision over Dustin Jacoby last October.
The light heavyweight matchup will certainly be missed from this weekend’s UFC 289, but it’s a welcome addition to a UFC Fight Night in August that is still taking shape. Rountree and Daukaus will add some name value to an event that's comprised mainly of unranked talent at the moment, but it does feature an intriguing welterweight main event between Vicente Luque and former UFC Lightweight Champion Rafael dos Anjos.
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