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Giga Chikadze was forced to withdraw from his UFC 296 featherweight bout against Josh Emmett after tearing his groin less than two weeks ahead of the matchup. The No.6-ranked featherweight sent out an open invitation to the division in search of a replacement opponent, tweeting:
"Giga’s Out ❌ - Who’s ready Dec 16th? #UFC296"
Check out Josh Emmett's tweet in search of a UFC 296 opponent below:
While there had been plenty of speculation on who would step in, Bryce Mitchell will reportedly take the short notice bout. @MagicM_MMABets was the first with the news, tweeting:
"Per sources, Bryce Mitchell stepping in to fight Josh Emmet next week."
Check out the announcement of Bryce Mitchell stepping in to face Josh Emmett below:
Both Emmett and Mitchell took to X after the announcement, seemingly confirming the news. 'CC0' shared a photo of the contract, simply captioning the post:
"#UFC296"
'Thug Nasty' shared a photo of the announcement, with the caption:
"Stay ready. 💪🏻"
Check out the tweets from Josh Emmett and Bryce Mitchell below:
Emmett will enter the bout with a record of 18 wins and four losses. The No.6-ranked featherweight is coming off back-to-back losses, the first of which was for the interim UFC featherweight title. He has won six bouts via knockout, two bouts via submission and ten bouts via decision. 'CC0' has been knocked out once, submitted once and lost via decision twice.
Mitchell has a professional mixed martial arts record of 16 wins and one loss. The No.10-ranked featherweight was able to get back in the win column at UFC Fight Night 228 after suffering his first career loss at UFC 282. He has never won via knockout, however, he has nine victories via submission and seven victories via decision. 'Thug Nasty' has never been knocked out or lost via decision, as his only loss came via submission.
Why did Giga Chikadze withdraw from UFC 296?
Giga Chikadze was forced to withdraw from UFC 296 after tearing his groin. The No.8-ranked featherweight announced the injury on Monday, sharing footage with the caption:
"Sh*t happens! Tore groin! I’ll be back soon!"
Check out footage of Giga Chikadze's injury below:
He will reportedly be ready to return to action next month, as he gave a follow-up on Tuesday after meeting with a doctor:
"Good news! I’m at Dr.Michael Setareh, he’s saying end of January I can compete. If Emmet wants to wait a month…"
Check out the follow-up tweet from Giga Chikadze below:
With Emmett now scheduled to face Mitchell at UFC 296, Chikadze will likely need a different opponent if he hopes to return in January. He returned from a nearly 20-month hiatus at UFC Fight Night 225, defeating Alex Caceres via unanimous decision.
