Sean Strickland Replacing Kelvin Gastelum in Saturday’s UFC Headliner
Strickland (left)(image via UFC/YouTube)
By FCF Staff
The UFC’s Fight Night card this Saturday has undergone a significant change, as Sean Strickland is replacing Kelvin Gastelum in the headliner.
Gastelum was scheduled to fight fellow, middleweight contender Nassourdine Imavov. But, recently ESPN reported that Gastelum has withdrawn from the bout due to a facial injury.
As a result of the short notice, the Strickland – Imavov bout will be contested at light-heavyweight instead of middleweight. The UFC has also confirmed the change.
Stepping in on short notice!
Sean Strickland is replacing Kelvin Gastelum in Saturday's #UFCVegas67 main event pic.twitter.com/VLpsRxT7d6
— UFC (@ufc) January 10, 2023
Recently, Gastelum released a photo of himself and the injury he sustained.
Strickland (25-5) is looking to get back on track, after being KO’d by Alex Pereira and dropping a split-decision loss to Jared Cannonier. The loss to Cannonier took place in December,
Imavov (12-3) has won three straight fights and is coming off a unanimous decision win over Joaquin Buckley in September.
Saturday’s UFC card will take place at the Apex facility in Las Vegas, Nevada.
