The UFC is off to a rough start in 2023.
Ahead of the UFC’s first event of the year, UFC Vegas 67 has lost one half of the main event with Kelvin Gastelum being forced off the card due to a mouth injury. As a result, Sean Strickland has volunteered to take his place in a fight against Nassourdine Imavov on Saturday in Las Vegas.
UFC officials confirmed the change to MMA Fighting on Monday. ESPN.com initially reported the news.
The fight between Imavov and Strickland will remain five rounds, but the bout will now take place at 205 pounds rather than middleweight.
Strickland steps up on short notice to take the main event after he competed in the final fight card of 2022, losing a split decision to Jared Cannonier at UFC Vegas 66. That served as his second straight loss after he fell to future UFC champion Alex Pereira by knockout at UFC 276 this past July.
As for Imavov, he looks to build on a current three-fight winning streak when he faces Strickland on Saturday. On his current run, the 27-year-old Russian has picked up impressive wins over Joaquin Buckley, Edmen Shahbazyan and Ian Heinish.
The fight change is unfortunate news for Gastelum, who missed all of 2022 due to various injuries that left him unable to compete. The one-time UFC interim middleweight title challenger most recently fought in 2021, when he lost a unanimous decision to Jared Cannonier.
Overall, Gastelum has struggled with a 1-5 record in his past six fights. After news broke of his withdrawal, he posted a statement on Twitter expressing his disappointment.
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
UFC Vegas 67 moves forward with 12 total bouts scheduled at the UFC APEX on Saturday.
