Dan Hooker has had to withdraw from his co-main event fight with Justin Gaethje at UFC 313 in Las Vegas on March 8th after he revealed that he’s suffered a hand injury.
“Dad had a fight, or was supposed to have a fight, but I’ve busted me paw,” Hooker said while holding up his swollen hand on his daughter’s vlog on YouTube posted earlier today.
That’s unfortunate news as the clash between the No.6 ranked Hooker and No.3 placed Gaethje was one of the most eagerly anticipated fights on the line-up for UFC 313, and leaves the pay-per-view main card substantially weakened.
At this stage it’s unclear whether Gaethje will remain on the card as there’s only two weeks left for the UFC brass to find a suitable replacement, but it seems likely that they’ll try to do so given that the show would be lacking in star power if he was also removed.
As it stands the event still proceeds with it’s previously scheduled main card light-heavyweight title clash between current champion Alex Pereira and Magomed Ankalaev, while the other remaining PPV bouts include Jalin Turner vs. Ignacio Bahamondes, Amanda Lemos vs. Iasmin Lucindo and Bobby ‘King’ Green vs. Mauricio Ruffy.
