Kelvin Gastelum injured – Sean Strickland takes main event fight on short notice

Sean ”Tarzan” Strickland steps in on short notice at UFC Vegas 67. Photo: Trevor MacMillan – USA TODAY Sports

Middleweight Kelvin Gastelum was forced to pull out from his headline fight at Saturday’s UFC Vegas 67 after a nasty mouth injury that left him unfit to compete against Nassourdine Imavov.

However, Sean Strickland saved the day and stepped in to take Gastelum’s place in the main event against Imavov. The fight will take place at light heavyweight instead of middleweight, but will still be five rounds. ESPN was first to report the news.

In a statement posted on Twitter, a disappointed Gastelum commented on the unfortunate situation.

“I’m extremely disappointed to say the least. This not how I wanted to start 2023. I worked my ass off & battled through a lot of adversary and was ready to put on a hell of a show this weekend. I apologize to Imavov, his camp as well as UFC  and all the fans,” Gastelum wrote.

I’m extremely disappointed to say the least. This not how I wanted to start 2023.
I worked my ass off & battled through a lot of adversary and was ready to put on a hell of a show this weekend.
I apologize to Imavov, his camp as well as @ufc and all the fans. #OnAmission4Gold

— #OnAmission4Gold (@KelvinGastelum) January 9, 2023

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Back-to-back headliners for Sean Strickland

The fight against Nassourdine Imavov will be the second headliner in a row for Sean Strickland, as he  competed in the main event of the last UFC card of 2022, where he took a decision loss to Jared Cannonier.

He’s now lost two fights in a row, as he was defeated by the current king of the division, Alex Pereira, last summer. Strickland started the year with a split decision win over Jack ”The Joker” Hermansson.

Check out the new lineup and everything else you need to know about UFC Vegas 67 here!

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