Giga Chikadze has withdrawn from his scheduled fight at UFC 296 against Josh Emmett due to a torn groin, and Emmett is now seeking a replacement opponent for the Dec. 16 event.
Josh Emmett’s fight schedule just took a hit. Giga Chikadze, his expected opponent for UFC 296 on Dec. 16 in Las Vegas, is out of the game.
The news came from multiple insiders. They’re close to the promotion’s plans and confirmed to MMA Fighting that Chikadze won’t be competing. Why, you ask? An injury.
Chikadze spilled the beans himself. He posted a video showing how he tore his groin during training. Ouch, right?
Emmett’s response? He’s looking for a replacement. He wants someone to face him in the last UFC card of 2023. He took to Twitter, writing, “Giga’s out. Who’s ready Dec. 16?”
This is a real bummer for Chikadze. The Georgian featherweight had just made his big comeback in August. He scored a unanimous decision over Alex Caceres, marking his first fight in over 18 months.
Remember his five-round brawl with Calvin Kattar in January 2022? He took a lot of damage in that one. So much so, he needed clearance from the Nevada Athletic Commission to compete at UFC 296. Now, with his withdrawal, he doesn’t need a fight license.
As for Emmett, he’s hungry for a win. He’s had a rough patch with back-to-back losses against Yair Rodriguez and Ilia Topuria. After a five-fight winning streak, he fell short in his bid to become interim champion. Rodriguez finished him with a triangle choke submission at UFC 284.
Four months later, he was back in the ring. He fought a “Fight of the Night” against Topuria in Jacksonville, Fla. But, alas, he dropped that one too.