Shoulder Injury Knocks Dawodu Out Of UFC 257

With just two weeks remaining UFC 257 has lost one of its main attractions.

According to a recent report by MMA Junkie, featherweight contender Hakeem Dawodu has been forced out of his bout with Shane Burgos due to a shoulder injury. The bout has yet to be officially canceled by UFC and it is unknown at this time if the promotion is looking for a replacement to fight Burgos.

Dawodu, 29, has been on an absolute tear in the UFC’s stacked featherweight division. Since losing his Octagon debut just shy of three years ago “Mean” has racked off five-straights wins as he closes in on the division’s top 15. This upcoming matchup with Burgos was supposed to give Dawodu the opportunity to fight his way into the rankings, but now he’ll have to wait a little longer in 2021.

UFC 257 will take place on Jan. 23 live on ESPN+ PPV from inside Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, U.A.E., and feature a main event rematch between former UFC champion Conor McGregor and lightweight contender Dustin Poirier. The updated UFC 257 fight card lineup is as follows:

Dustin Poirier vs. Conor McGregor

Michael Chandler vs. Dan Hooker

Joanne Calderwood vs. Jessica Eye

Marcin Prachnio vs. Khalil Rountree

Amanda Ribas vs. Marina Rodriguez

Sara McMann vs. Julianna Pena

Ottman Azaitar vs. Matt Frevola

Antonio Carlos Junior vs. Brad Tavares

Sergey Morozov vs. Umar Nurmagomedov

Shane Burgos vs. TBA

Nasrat Haqparast vs. Arman Tsarukyan

Makhmud Muradov vs. Andrew Sanchez

For more UFC 257 fight card news and coverage click here.