UFC 257 news: Hakeem Dawodu withdraws from Shane Burgos fight due to shoulder injury

UFC 257, the first UFC pay-per-view of the year, has lost the highly-awaited featherweight showdown between Hakeem Dawodu and Shane Burgos. According to a report from MMA Junkie's Farah Hannoun, a shoulder injury forced Dawodu to withdraw from the PPV and the fight.

Here is the report from Farah Hannoun on Twitter:

Per sources, Hakeem Dawodu is out of his #UFC257 fight vs. Shane Burgos due to a shoulder injury.

— Farah Hannoun (@Farah_Hannoun) January 9, 2021

Both Dawodu and Burgos have been on the rise in the UFC, making the fight one to watch out for on the already stacked UFC 257 card. Unfortunately, fight fans will now have to wait a little longer to witness this exciting 145-lbs showdown.

Heading into the fight, Hakeem Dawodu secured an imposing win over Zubaira Tukhugov at UFC 253. Before his win over Khabib Nurmagomedov's teammate, Dawodu had suffered only one loss in the UFC, which was against Danny Henry in the former's first fight in the promotion.

On the other hand, Shane Burgos would have entered UFC 257 after a brutal back-and-forth showdown against Josh Emmett last June. Hurricane, who signed a four-fight deal with the UFC back in March 2020, was on a three-fight win streak before his loss to Emmett.

As things stand, it remains to be seen if the UFC will find a replacement fighter for Shane Burgos for UFC 257. Featherweight grappler Ryan Hall has been asking for a fight for quite some time now, and this could be the perfect opportunity to promote Hall into Dawodu's spot.

When is UFC 257, and what does the PPV have in store?

UFC 257 is scheduled for 23 January and will be the first pay-per-view of 2021. The event will be headlined by the returning Conor McGregor, who faces Dustin Poirier in a highly awaited rematch.

The co-main event of the evening will feature the debuting Michael Chandler against lightweight sensation Dan Hooker. Coming off the back of a loss to Poirier in 2020, the Hangman will aim to ruin Chandler's highly-anticipated UFC debut.

The rest of the UFC 257 card will feature several other exciting fights, including a battle between Amanda Ribas and Marina Rodriguez. Jessica Eye will also compete at the UFC 257 PPV against Joanne Calderwood, along with several other exciting fights taking place at the show.