Giga Chikadze will no longer join the UFC 296 event due to an injury. In a recent video posted on X, the fighter confirmed that he suffered a torn groin, pushing him to back out of his scheduled fight against Josh Emmett at T-Mobile Arena in Nevada.
Sh*t happens! Tore groin! I’ll be back soon! pic.twitter.com/ABMggWhHdM
— GIGACHAD (@giga_chikadze) December 5, 2023
Chikadze shared the exact moment he obtained the injury. It is kind of an unfortunate event for Chikadze, who recently just got cleared by the Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) for his head injury examinations. To recall, the Georgian professional mixed martial artist experienced a brain injury on an unknown occasion, but its origin could be traced back to his last two fights. The first was the one against Calvin Kattar in Nevada in January 2022. The fight lasted five rounds, with Kattar winning and raining Chikadze with hits to his head. After this, Ninja fought and defeated Alex Caceres in Singapore in August.
Needless to say, despite his clearance from NAC, the fighter has to take more time to rest. Nonetheless, Chikadze assured fans that he “will be back soon.”
As for Emmett, the incident could be bad news. Currently, there are no details on whether the fight will be pushed to a later date or if the UFC is looking for a replacement. Emmett, nonetheless, recently confirmed the withdrawal of Chikadze and challenged fellow fighters by asking “Who’s ready Dec 16th?”
