UFC Raleigh has taken a major hit.
MMA Junkie has learned from sources close to the situation that Josh Emmett (15-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) has been forced out of his UFC on ESPN+ 24 fight vs. Arnold Allen (15-1 MMA, 6-0 UFC) on Jan. 25 due to an undisclosed injury.
Emmett was looking to make it three wins in a row with victory against in-form Brit Allen, and was heading into the event following back-to-back knockouts over Michael Johnson and Mirsad Bektic, with the latter earning him a “Performance of the Night” bonus last July.
Allen, meanwhile, is yet to suffer a loss in the UFC, and defeated former Strikeforce and WEC lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez in his last outing at UFC 239 in July 2019. Victory for the 25-year-old would have catapulted the talented Englishman towards the sharp end of the UFC’s featherweight rankings.