Gunnar Nelson Seeking New Opponent For UFC 189 After Hathaway Gets Injured
UFC 189 is set to go down in just a few weeks live on pay-per-view (PPV) from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada on July 11, 2015. Headlined by dual title fights including the highly-anticipated featherweight title fight between Jose Aldo and Conor McGregor as well as a welterweight title contest between Robbie Lawler and Rory MacDonald, the card is set to be the biggest of the year.
Also scheduled for the main card was another 170-pound bout between McGregor’s teammate Gunnar Nelson and John Hathaway, but it seems as if the UFC and Nelson are now searching for a new opponent. MMAJunkie has confirmed that Hathaway has suffered an undisclosed injury and has been forced out of the bout.
After winning seven of his first eight UFC bouts, Hathaway is coming off a brutal loss to Dong Hyun Kim back March 2014, and has been battling injuries and Crohn’s disease for the past 16 months.
Nelson is also coming off of a split-decision loss to Rick Story in the main event of UFC Fight Night 53 last October.
Check out the full UFC 189 lineup below, and stay tuned to LowKickMMA for any news on a possible replacement for Hathaway:
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)
- Champ Jose Aldo vs. Conor McGregor – for featherweight title
- Champ Robbie Lawler vs. Rory MacDonald – for welterweight title
- Dennis Bermudez vs. Jeremy Stephens
- Gunnar Nelson vs. TBA
- Thomas Almeida vs. Brad Pickett
PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX Sports 1, 8 p.m. ET)
- Matt Brown vs. Tim Means
- John Howard vs. Brandon Thatch
- Alex Garcia vs. Mike Swick
- Henry Briones vs. Cody Garbrandt
PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC Fight Pass, 7 p.m. ET)
- Neil Seery vs. Louis Smolka
- Yosdenis Cedeno vs. Cody Pfister
