Anthony Hernandez has been forced to pull out of UFC 302.
Hernandez (12-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) was scheduled to face Roman Dolidze (12-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) in a middleweight bout June 1 at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., but he withdrew due to a hand injury.
“Fluffy” took to Instagram Monday night to explain what happened.
“On Friday while training I sustained an injury, I got my MRI results back this morning and unfortunately due to a torn ligament in my hand, I will no longer be able to fight on June 1. I want to apologize to the @ufc , my opponent, & the best matchmaker @mickmaynard2 but this was not an injury I could push through. I hope for a quick return and be back in the cage before summer ends. Thank you to all my fans, friends & family for the continued support 🫶🏽 … the journey continues 🧘🏻♂️👹🙏🏽.”
Hernandez was looking to build on his five-fight winning streak. He is coming off back-to-back finishes of Edmen Shahbazyan and most recently a Performance of the Night submission over Roman Kopylov at UFC 298.
After amassing a four-fight winning streak, including a TKO finish of Jack Hermansson, Georgia’s Dolidze dropped two straight to Marvin Vettori and Nassourdine Imavov.
With the change, the current UFC 302 lineup includes:
- Champion Islam Makhachev vs. Dustin Poirier – for lightweight title
- Sean Strickland vs. Paulo Costa – five-round co-main event
- Roman Dolidze vs. opponent TBA
- Su Mudaerji vs. Tatsuro Taira
- Jailton Almeida vs. Alexandr Romanov
- Joselyne Edwards vs. Ailin Perez
- Mickey Gall vs. Bassil Hafez
- Grant Dawson vs. Joe Solecki
- Jake Matthews vs. Phil Rowe
- Andre Lima vs. Hyun Sung Park
- Niko Price vs. Jeremiah Wells
- Cesar Almeida vs. Roman Kopylov
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 302.
