LAS VEGAS – A UFC Fight Night main event is taken a hit.
Middleweight contender Sean Strickland is out of his Oct. 15 headliner vs. Jared Cannonier, UFC president Dana White announced Tuesday after Dana White’s Contender Series 52 at the UFC Apex. White indicated the bout has been scrapped entirely with no replacement incoming.
In the days prior, Strickland (25-4 MMA, 12-4 UFC) shared on social media an ongoing saga with a badly infected finger. According to Strickland, he suffered a cut in training when he sliced it on a sparring partner’s tooth. The wound was infected and Strickland shared Tuesday he’ll have to undergo surgery.
“Yeah, it does (effect the upcoming fight). He’s out,” White told MMA Junkie and other reporters Tuesday. “We had matchmaking today and that was when I found out there was something wrong with him. … I think we just scrapped the fight.”
Strickland most recently competed at UFC 276 in July when he was knocked out by Alex Pereira. Manager Tim Simpson, of Paradigm Sports, recently told MMA Junkie he thought Strickland was one fight away from a title shot.
Meanwhile, Cannonier is coming off a loss on the same card. He was defeated by champion Israel Adesanya via unanimous decision in the UFC 276 main event.
With the change, the UFC Fight Night lineup for Oct. 15 includes:
- Jonathan Martinez vs. Cub Swanson
- Askar Askarov vs. Brandon Royval
- Viviane Araujo vs. Alexa Grasso
- Mike Jackson vs. Pete Rodriguez
- Misha Cirkunov vs. Alonzo Menifield
- Sam Hughes vs. Piera Rodriguez
- Tatsuro Taira vs. C.J. Vergara
- Brandon Davis vs. Mana Martinez
- Raphael Assuncao vs. Victor Henry
- Melsik Baghdasaryan vs. Joanderson Brito
