Injury Forces Kelvin Gastelum to Withdraw from Bout vs. Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 273

pic.twitter.com/NuOJBq6GyU

— #OnAmission4Gold (@KelvinGastelum) April 2, 2022

Shortly after the promotion scrambled to find him a replacement opponent, an injury has forced Kelvin Gastelum to withdraw from UFC 273.

UFC officials recently announced Gastelum’s exit, but the nature of his injury was not disclosed. Du Plessis will not remain on the card.

“I wish it was an April Fool’s joke,” Gastelum said in a video on Twitter. “I wish this didn’t happen, but it did, and unfortunately, I have to withdraw from the fight. I was advised not to disclose the injury, but just know, I am compromised, and I can’t and won’t be heading into the fight compromised the way that I am.”

Gastelum was originally slated to face Nassourdine Imavov at the event before visa issues forced Imavov off the card. As a result, Du Plessis was pulled from a matchup against Anthony Hernandez and lined up as a replacement foe for Gastelum.



“I’ve just got to say sorry to Dricus that I have to pull out this way. You were our last hope to stay on the card, and I was so thankful that you accepted the fight,” Gastelum said to Du Plessis. “But I’m sorry.”

UFC 273 takes place on April 9 at Vystar Veteran’s Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla., and is headlined by a featherweight title tilt between Alexander Volkanovski and Chan Sung Jung. In the co-main event, Aljamain Sterling will square off agianst Petr Yan in a bantamweight championship unification bout.