Well, here’s a bit of a bummer. Giga Chikadze has pulled out of a planned UFC 296 fight against Josh Emmett. This was supposed to go down on Dec. 16.
Emmett was the one who first spilled the beans. He announced on social media that Chikadze had backed out of the event. This info was later confirmed by several outlets.
Chikadze didn’t leave us hanging for long. He revealed he had suffered a torn groin. “I’ll be back soon,” he promised.
UFC 296 is set to take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main event? A welterweight title fight between Leon Edwards and Colby Covington.
In the co-main event, Alexandre Pantoja will defend the flyweight crown against Brandon Royval. Sounds like a solid line-up, doesn’t it?
Chikadze has been out of the game for more than a year and a half. He made a triumphant return at UFC Fight Night 225, where he outpointed Alex Caceres on Aug. 26.
The 35-year-old Kings MMA product has an impressive 8-1 record during his time with the Las Vegas-based promotion.
Emmett, on the other hand, hasn’t had the best of luck recently. He’s coming off back-to-back losses against Ilia Topuria and Yair Rodriguez in his last two Octagon appearances.
*Editor’s note: We updated this piece at around 10:53 a.m. ET to include more info about Chikadze’s injury.