UFC 296 has lost a bout, as Giga Chikadze suffered an injury in training.
Chikadze was scheduled to meet former interim title challenger Josh Emmett in a featherweight affair on December 16 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
“(Expletive) happens!” Chikadze posted on social media. “Tore going! I’ll be back soon!”
The bout was scheduled to be part of the undercard for the night. The event features Leon Edwards defending his welterweight title against Colby Covington.
Chikadze was coming off a decision win vs. Alex Caceres in August that pushed his overall mark to 15-3. His only loss since signing with the UFC was a five-round decision defeat to Calvin Kattar in 2022 that earned “Fight of the Night” honors.
Since making his promotional debut, Chikadze has picked up eight wins and four bonuses in all with three finishes.
Emmett battled Yair Rodriguez for the interim title in February, suffering a fourth-round submission defeat at UFC 284 in Australia. He also dropped a five-round main event to Ilia Topuria this past June that earned the two “Fight of the Night” status.
UFC 296 Fight Card
Along with Edwards vs. Covington for the belt, Alexandre Pantoja defends his flyweight championship against Brandon Royval in the co-main event.
Other planned main card fights include Shavkat Rakhmonov vs. Stephen Thompson, Tony Ferguson vs. Paddy Pimblett and Vicente Luque vs. Ian Machado Garry.
Among the prelims bouts are Irene Aldana vs. Karol Rosa, Cody Garbrandt vs. Brian Kelleher and Casey O’Neill vs. Ariane Lipski.
