A highly anticipated UFC on ESPN 7 strawweight fight between Claudia Gadelha and Cynthia Calvillo is off.
Gadelha announced Tuesday via her Instagram that she had to pull out the bout scheduled for Dec. 7 in Washington, D.C., as she continues to be bothered by injuries sustained in her victory over Randa Markos at UFC 239.
“After my last fight, I had to take a break because I broke a finger and I rolled my ankle,” Gadelha said in an Instagram video. “I have a torn ligament and a ruptured tendon, and I took some time off because I had to let it heal; I had to let my body heal and let my injuries heal. I went away, I told you guys I was going away, (and) I asked everybody not to bug me because I needed the time. I took the extra time and I went away and I did whatever I wanted to do. I came back and I started doing rehab. It’s been over two months now treating these injuries, and my finger is fine now, but my ankle is just not getting better.
“I did everything I could to be 100 percent by Dec. 7. The UFC knows, the [UFC Performance Institute] knows because I’ve been there this whole time treating my injuries. It’s just not happening.”
You can listen to Gadelha’s explanation in the post below:
No immediate word yet on whether Calvillo will remain on the card.
Claudia Gadelha announces she's out of UFC on ESPN 7 bout with Cynthia Calvillo