The first Ultimate Fighting Championship event of 2023 has undergone a late change to its headliner.
According to promotion broadcast partner ESPN, Kelvin Gastelum has been forced to withdraw from his UFC fight Night 217 showdown against Nassourdine Imavov due to a mouth injury, and as a result, will be replaced by Sean Strickland on less than one week’s notice. Strickland will be headlining back-to-back UFC cards after dropping a unanimous decision to Jared Cannonier in the promotion’s last event of 2022 on Dec. 17.