UFC 313 has taken a massive hit with a little less than two weeks until the card goes down at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
A five-round co-main event tilt between lightweight fan favorites Dan Hooker and Justin Gaethje is off the lineup, as revealed on Tuesday. The change means that UFC’s March 8th pay-per-view event is down to just one five-round clash, at least for the moment.
Hooker revealed in a recent social media post that a hand injury has forced him out of the matchup.
“Dad had a fight, or was supposed to have a fight, but I’ve busted my paw,” Hooker said in a video alongside his daughter, showing off a swollen hand to the camera.
The bout was expected to be Hooker’s first five-round fight since a 2020 main event against Dustin Poirier. The New Zealander has been on a solid run as of late, having scored a trio of victories since late 2022. His most recent appearance was a split decision win over former KSW champ Mateusz Gamrot at UFC 305.
If Gaethje gets a new opponent for UFC 313, it’ll be someone stepping in with just about 11 days to prepare. Known for his wars, Gaethje has recently taken many bookings against other fighters who know how to put on violent performances. The early March show was scheduled to be his first time fighting since suffering a “Knockout of the Year” contender loss against Max Holloway at UFC 300.
He had a pair of high-quality wins before then in 2023, beating Rafael Fiziev in a three-rounder, then earning a second-round head kick knockout against Poirier.
The departure of Hooker vs. Gaethje hurts a PPV card that has already been lacking in star-power. While the event is headlined by light heavyweight champ Alex Pereira and long-standing contender Magomed Ankalaev, the show is overall 10 fights currently and features a total of just eight ranked fighters (last weekend’s “Fight Night” card had six ranked talents, for reference).
If the card will proceed without a new lightweight match, a booking between high-ranked strawweight contenders Amanda Lemos and Iasmin Lucindo would likely serve as the card’s co-main event.
Here’s an updated look at UFC 313:
Bout 10: Alex Pereira (12-2) vs. Magomed Ankalaev (20-1-1) (UFC Light Heavyweight Championship)
Bout 9: Amanda Lemos (14-4-1) vs. Iasmin Lucindo (17-5) (Strawweight)
Bout 8: King Green (32-16-1) vs. Mauricio Ruffy (11-1) (Lightweight)
Bout 7: Jalin Turner (14-8) vs. Ignacio Bahamondes (16-5) (Lightweight)
Bout 6: Bruno Ferreira (12-2) vs. Armen Petrosyan (8-4) (Middleweight)
Bout 5: Ozzy Diaz (9-3) vs. Djorden Santos (10-1) (Middleweight)
Bout 4: Alex Morono (24-11) vs. Carlos Leal (21-6) (Welterweight)
Bout 3: Mairon Santos (14-1) vs. Francis Marshall (8-2) (Featherweight)
Bout 2: Curtis Blaydes (18-5) vs. Rizvan Kuniev (13-2-1) (Heavyweight)
Bout 1: Rei Tsuruya (10-0) vs. Joshua Van (12-2) (Flyweight)
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