Claudia Gadelha is officially off the UFC 253 pay-per-view card.
The strawweight fighter was originally set to take on Yan Xiaonan at the upcoming show; however, the 31-year-old suffered a knee injury that’s forced her off the event. According to Combate, Gadelha confirmed the injury at the UFC Performance Institute. There’s no word on how severe the injury is.
Gadelha was coming into the fight with some solid momentum as the strawweight nabbed impressive wins over Angela Hill (via split decision at UFC on ESPN 8) and Randa Markos (via unanimous decision at UFC 239). As for Xiaonan, she’s expected to remain on the card as officials are currently seeking a replacement for the fighter, though there’s no word on who could potentially step into the octagon against her.
Thus far, Xiaonan remains undefeated in the UFC, with her latest win coming over Karolina Kowalkiewicz at UFC Fight Night 168. We’ll keep you updated when more news comes to light over Xiaonan’s opponent later this month. UFC 253 takes place on Saturday, September 26 with Israel Adesanya vs. Paulo Costa for the UFC Middleweight title headlining the pay-per-view.