An injury has forced welterweight Jared Gooden out of his UFC debut.
Gooden was scheduled to face Dwight Grant on the preliminary portion of Saturday’s UFC on ESPN event at UFC APEX in Las Vegas. He announced via Instagram that he suffered an injury that has forced him to withdraw and Grant told MMA Fighting that the promotion is seeking a replacement opponent to keep him on the card.
The specific nature of Gooden’s injury was not specified.
“Nite Train” was to make his first trip to the octagon after going 17-4 on the regional scene, with appearances for Titan FC, Island Fights, and Legacy Fighting Alliance on his resume.
Should Gooden (10-2) stay on the card, this will be his first fight since UFC 236 in April 2019. The Contender Series contract winner defeated Alan Jouban by split decision in his most recent outing to improve his UFC record to 2-1.
