BREAKING: Major UFC 296 Fight Canceled Due to Injury
One fighter is in need of a new opponent for UFC 296 after his planned foe suffered an injury during a training session.
Featherweight contenders Josh Emmett and Giga Chikadze were set to meet as one of the standout bouts for UFC 296 in Las Vegas, which will be the promotion’s final event of 2023.
Emmett kicked off his year by taking on Yair Rodriguez for the interim featherweight belt at UFC 284 but was submitted in the second round of that outing.
The 38-year-old suffered the first back-to-back losing streak of his career when he also came up short against Ilia Topuria in June, and on Monday he revealed that he’s hoping to find a new opponent less than two weeks out from UFC 296.
No explanation for Chikadze’s withdrawal was provided in Emmett’s post, but “Ninja” shared a video on his Instagram showing that he’d torn his groin while throwing a kick during training.
Chikadze’s injury is a significant blow to UFC 296, but it’s also frustrating news for the Georgian after he just returned to action with a decision win over Alex Caceres earlier this year following nearly a year on the sidelines.
The UFC may be hard-pressed to find a replacement opponent for Emmett on such short notice, but UFC 296 is still a stacked card that includes the highly-anticipated welterweight title bout between Leon Edwards and Colby Covington as well as Alexandre Pantoja defending his flyweight belt against Brandon Royval in the co-main event.
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