Ruslan Magomedov out with injury against Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC Fight Night 86
One of heavyweight's only prospects is going to be stuck on the shelf for awhile. Ruslan Magomedov announced Wednesday that he has been forced to withdraw from his UFC Fight Night 86 contest against Gabriel Gonzaga after suffering an apparent knee injury.
Magomedov (14-1) posted a photo of an x-ray on Twitter and wrote that he "can barely walk" due to the injury. UFC officials have yet to announce Magomedov's withdrawal or a replacement opponent for Gonzaga.
Sorry to all my fans & @gonzagabjj I tried my best but had to pull out bc I hurt my knee & can barely walk. pic.twitter.com/OTLmCHr901
— Ruslan Magomedov (@MagomedovUFC) March 9, 2016
UFC Fight Night 86 takes place April 10 at the Zagreb Arena in Zagreb, Croatia. The event marks the UFC's first venture into Croatia. The main card airs on FOX Sports 1 and is headlined by a heavyweight contest between top contender Ben Rothwell and former UFC champion Junior dos Santos.
Magomedov, 29, has won all three of his fights inside the UFC Octagon, outpointing Viktor Pesta, Josh Copeland, and Shawn Jordan. He trains out of American Kickboxing Academy and holds past victories over former UFC heavyweight champions Tim Sylvia and Ricco Rodriguez. He was gunning for his 10th straight win before withdrawing from the Gonzaga bout.
Now left without an opponent, Gonzaga (17-10) snapped a recent three-fight losing streak in December with a sluggish victory over Konstantin Erokhin. The 36-year-old Brazilian has been fighting in the UFC for over a decade, winning 12 of his 21 contests, highlighted by finishes over Rothwell and Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic.
An updated UFC Fight Night 86 fight card can be seen below.
- Junior Dos Santos vs. Ben Rothwell
- Gabriel Gonzaga vs. TBA
- Francis Ngannou vs. Bojan Mihajlovic
- Timothy Johnson vs. Marcin Tybura
- Jan Blachowicz vs. Igor Pokrajac
- Maryna Moroz vs. Cristina Stanciu
- Mairbek Taisumov vs. Damir Hadzovic
- Zak Cummings vs. Nicolas Dalby
- Ian Entwistle vs. Alejandro Perez
- Filip Pejic vs. Damian Stasiak
- Robert Whiteford vs. Lucas Martins
- Jared Cannonier vs. Cyril Asker
- Bojan Velickovic vs. Alessio Di Chirico