Well, here’s some news for the UFC fans out there. The Ultimate Fighting Championship is down one top contender match for its first card of 2024. Yeah, you heard that right.
On Friday, the promotion announced something that’s got everyone talking. The bantamweight pairing between Ketlen Vieira (14-3) and Macy Chiasson (8-3) is no longer happening at UFC Fight Night 234. A bit of a bummer, right?
Now, the reason behind this? An undisclosed injury. The UFC didn’t give us much to go on, but they did say that Chiasson won’t get a replacement opponent on this card. That’s a bit of a letdown, huh?
But wait, there’s more. According to a few Instagram Stories on Vieira’s account, it looks like she’s nursing an injury to her left knee. She’s icing it and getting treatment, and she’s saying “soon we will be back 100% God willing.” Let’s hope for the best.
Vieira, also known as “Fenomeno”, was all set to start the year off strong. She was hoping to get back on a win streak following a decision victory over Pannie Kianzad in July. Since 2020, the Brazilian has gone the distance in every match, win or lose.
She’s faced many of the top names in her division, and she’s bested most of them. She even had back-to-back wins over Miesha Tate and Holly Holm. The latter was a contentious split decision, but a win is a win.
On the other hand, Chiasson is still looking to get back in the cage after a shocking loss to Irene Aldana in September 2022. She took an upkick from Aldana off her back, which resulted in the first knockout of its type in company history. Talk about a surprise!
Since 2020, Chiasson had recorded decision wins over Shanna Young, Marion Reneau, and Norma Dumont. But she also lost by stoppage to Raquel Pennington and the aforementioned Aldana.
But hey, UFC Fight Night 234 is still happening. It’ll carry on with 12 bouts at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Jan. 13. The headliner of Magomed Ankalaev vs. Johnny Walker at 205 pounds is still on.
The co-main attraction will see Matheus Nicolau run it back with Manel Kape. Other fights on the main card include a lightweight clash of Jim Miller vs. Gabriel Benitez and a bantamweight battle pitting Ricky Simon against Mario Bautista. So, there’s still plenty to look forward to!