Ciryl Gane withdraws from UFC 249 fight against Shamil Abdurakhimov

It appears Shamil Abdurakhimovwill be looking for a new dance partner if he wants to fight in New York next month.

Abdurakhimov (20-5 MMA, 5-3 UFC) was set to take on Ciryl Gane (6-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) in a heavyweight fight at UFC 249. But Thursday, Gane posted on social media that he had suffered a collapsed lung during training, and it will keep him from finishing up a full camp for the fight.

UFC 249 takes place April 18 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims expected for ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+/UFC Fight Pass.

This is not the first time Gane has fallen victim to a pneumothorax, the clinical term for a collapsed lung. In September 2018, before he was in the UFC, he went through the same thing.

Gane, from France, signed with the UFC in 2019 and quickly won his first three fights with the promotion. He submitted Raphael Pessoa in August 2019, then Don’Tale Mayes in October. In December, he went the distance for the first time in his MMA career and outworked Tanner Boser for a decision.

Abdurakhimov is looking to rebound from a TKO loss to Curtis Blaydes at UFC 242 this past September. That snapped a run of three straight wins over Chase Sherman and Marcin Tybura by knockout, and former heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski by decision.

With the change, the UFC 249 lineup now includes:

Champ Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson – for lightweight title
Uriah Hall vs. Ronaldo Souza
Jessica Andrade vs. Rose Namajunas
Ben Rothwell vs. Gian Villante
Calvin Kattar vs. Jeremy Stephens
Ottman Azaitar vs. Khama Worthy
Sijara Eubanks vs. Sarah Moras
Shamil Abdurakhimov vs. TBA
Makhmud Muradov vs. Karl Roberson
Lyman Good vs. Belal Muhammad
Hunter Azure vs. Umar Nurmagomedov
Alexander Hernandez vs. Islam Makhachev