The search is on for a new opponent for Sodiq Yusuff, who is no longer fighting Giga Chikadze in the co-main event of UFC Vegas 60.
Nolan King and Farah Hannoun of MMA Junkie reported on Wednesday that Chikadze has withdrawn for undisclosed reasons, prompting the UFC to try and find a short-notice replacement for Yusuff.
Chikadze saw a nine-fight win streak snapped after he was defeated by Calvin Kattar at UFC Vegas 46 this past January. ‘Ninja’ emerged as a contender in the featherweight division with ‘Performance of the Night’ awarded finishes of Cub Swanson and Edson Barboza at UFC Vegas 25 and UFC Vegas 35, respectively.
Outside of the Octagon, Chikadze was recently honored during the UFC Hall of Fame ceremony as the 2022 recipient of the Forrest Griffin Community Award.
Yusuff returned to the win column with a unanimous decision over Alex Caceres at UFC Vegas 50 in March. ’Super’ improved to 5-1 in the UFC, with his only loss coming against Arnold Allen at UFC Vegas 23 last April.
Chikadze and Yusuff are ranked at No. 8 and No. 12 currently.
UFC Vegas 60 is set for Sat., Sept. 17, at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas. It is headlined by a highly anticipated bantamweight fight between Cory Sandhagen and Song Yadong. The event now has 14 confirmed fights, including Bill Algeo vs. Andre Fili, Sara McMann vs. Aspen Ladd and Chidi Njokuani vs. Gregory Rodrigues. Stay tuned to Bloody Elbow for updates to the event as they become available.
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