Josh
Emmett will get to remain on the
UFC 296 card after all.
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The Las Vegas-based promotion announced Wednesday that Bryce
Mitchell will replace the injured Giga
Chikadze and face Emmett in a featherweight bout on Dec. 16 at
the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Chikadze was forced to withdraw
from the event after suffering a torn groin in training.
Mitchell was successful in his first appearance of 2023, as he
outpointed Dan Ige at UFC
Fight Night 228 on Sept. 23. “Thug Nasty” has lost just once in a
17 professional outings — a second-round submission defeat to
Ilia
Topuria at UFC 282.
Emmett, meanwhile, is coming off back-to-back losses against
Ilia
Topuria and Yair
Rodriguez in his last two Octagon appearances.
UFC 296 is headlined by a welterweight championship clash between
Leon
Edwards and Colby
Covington. Emmett vs. Mitchell is currently slated for the
preliminary draw, which airs on ESPN2 and ESPN+ beginning at 8 p.m.
ET/5 p.m. PT.