Kelvin Gastelum out of UFC Vegas 67 main event vs. Nassourdine Imavov with mouth injury

Jason Owens
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - AUGUST 21: Kelvin Gastelum prepares to fight Jared Cannonier in a middleweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on August 21, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
Kelvin Gastelum was injured in training and will no longer headline Saturday's main event at UFC Vegas 67. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC) (Chris Unger via Getty Images)

Kelvin Gastelum withdrew on Monday from UFC Vegas 67 with a mouth injury.

UFC confirmed his withdrawal and that Sean Strickland will replace him in the main event versus Nassourdine Imavov. The card is slated for Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. ESPN's Brett Okamoto first reported that Gastelum sustained a mouth injury. Per Michael Wonsover, Gastelum took an incidental knee in practice on Monday that forced him to withdraw from the fight. Gastelum is in good spirits and recovering, according to the report.

Initially slated as a middleweight bout, the fight will take place at light heavyweight with the new lineup. It's scheduled for five rounds.

Strickland will headline his second straight UFC event after a main-event decision loss to Jared Cannonier at UFC Vegas 66 on Dec. 17. He's UFC's seventh-ranked middleweight contender. Imavov (12-3) is UFC's 12th-ranked middleweight and is seeking his fourth straight UFC victory. He defeated Joaquin Buckley by unanimous decision in his most recent fight in September.

Gastelum (17-8) is coming off consecutive losses to Cannonier and Robert Whittaker. He hasn't fought since 2021. He'll have to wait for another chance to get back in the win column.

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