The July 9 UFC bantamweight showdown between former champion Cody Garbrandt and Rani Yahya has been canceled after Yahya withdrew from the fight.
According to a report from MMA Fighting, it was a neck injury that forced Yahya to withdraw from the bout. There is currently no word yet on if Garbrandt will remain on the card.
Garbrandt is coming off of a UFC flyweight debut that didn’t go according to plan, as he was knocked out by Kai Kara-France in Round 1 back at UFC 269. Before that, he suffered losses at bantamweight to Rob Font and Pedro Munhoz.
It’s unclear if Garbrandt is done competing at flyweight or if his return to bantamweight is for the short term.
Garbrandt earned the UFC bantamweight title by defeating Dominick Cruz at UFC 207. He would go on to lose back-to-back title fights to TJ Dillashaw at UFC 217 and UFC 227.
Yahya has won his last two fights in the Octagon, including most recently against Kyung Ho Kang last November. He also earned wins over Luke Sanders and Ray Rodriguez.
Garbrandt had been expected to potentially compete for the UFC flyweight title before his flyweight debut loss. He has fought at bantamweight for the majority of his career.
The July 9 UFC Fight Night event includes a women’s flyweight matchup between Cynthia Calvillo and Nina Nunes, and the return of The Ultimate Fighter: 29 finalist Tresean Gore against Josh Fremd. The card will be headlined by Rafael dos Anjos taking on fellow lightweight “Rafael,” Rafael Fiziev.
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