UFC 318 has taken a hit, with a key fight being scrapped just two weeks ahead of the event.
UFC 318 is scheduled for July 19 at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana. The event will feature a high-profile lightweight headliner, with BMF titleholder Max Holloway taking on former interim champion Dustin Poirier.
The eighth pay-per-view of 2025 is set to showcase Patricio Pitbull’s sophomore Octagon outing, as the former Bellator featherweight champion takes on Dan Ige in the co-main event. Also featured on the main card is a middleweight showdown between former title challenger Paulo Costa and the surging Roman Kopylov, along with a lightweight clash pitting Michael Johnson against Daniel Zellhuber.
On Friday, Gunnar Nelson took to Instagram to announce his withdrawal from his scheduled UFC 318 bout against Neil Magny, citing multiple hamstring injuries. "Gunni" revealed that the damage includes both a muscle tear and a tendon rupture, rendering him unable to train effectively. The Icelandic veteran added that he’ll need at least eight weeks of recovery before returning to normal.
I won’t get into any crazy details about the injury but I’ll tell you it’s a two-part injury, so there is a tear in one of the muscles in the hamstring, which is a Grade 2b injury," Nelson said. "It’s not too bad, so it’s possibly something that we could have worked with. However, the second injury is on the tendon inside the muscle, which is a full thickness tear, so a Grade 4c injury and that’s a more serious one. Basically, I’m absolutely useless when it comes to any type of grappling scenarios. I’m not able to wrestle or grapple or kick and apparently it will be another eight weeks at least until I can comfortably have any type of grappling training at full speed.
Nelson last competed at UFC London in March, where he dropped a unanimous decision to Kevin Holland, bringing an end to his two-fight win streak. “Gunni” has fought just 12 times over the past 11 years, during which he has compiled an even 6–6 record in the Ocatgon.
As for Magny, it remains unclear whether a replacement opponent will be secured for UFC 318 or if his bout with Nelson will be rescheduled for a later date. “The Haitian Sensation” is currently riding a two-fight skid, both losses coming by knockout, with the most recent setback suffered at the hands of rising contender Carlos Prates in November 2024.
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