Canadian featherweight Hakeem Dawodu’s plans to score a big win to kick off the new year have been dealt a blow, with injury forcing the 29-year-old Calgary native out of his scheduled bout at UFC 257.
A source with knowledge of the situation has confirmed to MMA Junkie that Dawodu (12-1-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) has been forced to withdraw from his bout against Shane Burgos on Jan. 23 due to a shoulder injury.
The source requested anonymity as news of the bout’s cancellation has not been officially announced by the UFC.
It is currently unknown whether the UFC will seek a replacement opponent for Burgos (13-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC), or whether the original matchup will be rescheduled to a later date.
The current bout lineup for UFC 257 includes:
- Dustin Poirier vs. Conor McGregor
- Michael Chandler vs. Dan Hooker
- Joanne Calderwood vs. Jessica Eye
- Marcin Prachnio vs. Khalil Rountree
- Amanda Ribas vs. Marina Rodriguez
- Sara McMann vs. Julianna Pena
- Ottman Azaitar vs. Matt Frevola
- Antonio Carlos Junior vs. Brad Tavares
- Sergey Morozov vs. Umar Nurmagomedov
- Shane Burgos vs. TBA
- Nasrat Haqparast vs. Arman Tsarukyan
- Makhmud Muradov vs. Andrew Sanchez