Khamzat Chimaev was expected to earn a 185-pound title shot with a victory at UFC 294.
Instead, “Borz” will return to the sidelines while newly-crowned middleweight champion Sean Strickland makes his first division title defense against No. 2-ranked contender Dricus Du Plessis atop the UFC 297 pay-per-view (PPV) fight card on Jan. 20 in Toronto.
UFC CEO Dana White made the announcement on social media.
The Khamzat snub may be a result of his visa issues, a lingering hand injury, or his less-than-impressive performance against late-replacement Kamaru Usman in the Abu Dhabi co-main event just a few weeks back (or perhaps a combination of all three).
Strickland (28-5) upset the 185-pound apple cart with his bookie-busting upset over Israel Adesanya at UFC 293, a fight that was originally intended for Du Plessis. “Stillknocks” (20-2) passed on the opportunity to compete in Sydney but will now get another chance to fight for gold when the promotion returns to Toronto.
Du Plessis is coming off technical knockout win over former champion Robert Whittaker.
UFC 297 will also feature the women’s bantamweight title fight between Raquel Pennington and Mayra Bueno Silva, who compete for the 135-pound strap vacated after Amanda Nunes (and her damaged legs) retired from competition last June.
Expect more UFC 297 fight card announcements in the coming days.
This story originally appeared on MMA Mania
