MMA is a sport where the fighters are also pretty vulnerable to injuries. And to make things worse, they may also occur while the athletes are training for an upcoming fight. UFC has suffered a setback just before its final big event of 2023 which is headlined by Leon Edwards vs Colby Covington. A fight between Giga Chikadze and Josh Emmett at UFC 296 has probably been cancelled due to injury.
To date, a plethora of UFC fighters have sustained injuries during their pre-fight training camps. This year noted UFC fighters Charles Oliveira and Jon Jones, had to pull out of their respective fights due to injuries.
But a recent ‘X’ update from ‘MMA Uncensored’ revealed that the UFC authorities will have to experience a similar headache for the UFC 296. The show is scheduled for 16 December 2023. As per the report, Giga Chikadze, won’t be able to fight at UFC 296 due to a groin injury that he sustained during his training. The caption to their post read:
“Breaking News‼️ Giga Chikadze suffers groin injury and is OUT of his #UFC296 fight versus Josh Emmett.”
Breaking News ‼️ Giga Chikadze suffers groin injury and is OUT of his #UFC296 fight versus Josh Emmett. pic.twitter.com/4NCL8z4bbM
— MMA UNCENSORED (@MMAUNCENSORED1) December 5, 2023
The Emmet vs Chikadze fight was supposed to be the most popular fight in the UFC 296 prelims. However, it’s quite apparent now that the UFC will have to look for Chikadze’s replacement. They just have 11 days to find an opponent for Emmett and save the fight.
UFC 296 has been in talks because of the main eventer, Colby Covington. He has expressed to defend the welterweight title against a lightweight champion. As a result, fans are excited for the event.
Colby Covington wants to defend his welterweight title against Makhachev after UFC 296
Most fans already know that ‘Chaos’ will be taking on the current UFC welterweight champ, Leon Edwards in the main event of UFC 296. A few months back, Covington appeared in a YouTube video and broke down his plans if he managed to defeat ‘Rocky’ at UFC 296. In the interview, Covington mentioned that he would like to defend his title against UFC lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev.
Well, the UFC universe may have witnessed champions moving up in weight to challenge the champion of a higher weight class. But, Covington’s wish of defending the welterweight gold against someone of a lower weight class may be called one of a kind.
