Injury forces Kelvin Gastelum to withdraw from bout vs. Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 273

“I wish it was an April Fool’s joke,” Gastelum said in a video on Twitter. “I wish this didn’t happen, but it did, and unfortunately, I have to withdraw from the fight. I was advised not to disclose the injury, but just know, I am compromised, and I can’t and won’t be heading into the fight compromised the way that I am.”

Gastelum was originally slated to face Nassourdine Imavov at the event before visa issues forced Imavov off the card. As a result, Du Plessis was pulled from a matchup against Anthony Hernandez and lined up as a replacement foe for Gastelum.

“I’ve just got to say sorry to Dricus that I have to pull out this way. You were our last hope to stay on the card, and I was so thankful that you accepted the fight,” Gastelum said to Du Plessis. “But I’m sorry.”

UFC 273 takes place on April 9 at Vystar Veteran’s Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida, and is headlined by a featherweight title tilt between Alexander Volkanovski and Chan Sung Jung. In the co-main event, Aljamain Sterling will square off against Petr Yan in a bantamweight championship unification bout.