Breaking: Kelvin Gastelum out, Sean Strickland steps in to face Nassourdine Imavov on Jan. 14

Kelvin Gastelum is out, and Sean Strickland will be in for UFC Vegas 67 at the UFC Apex on January 14.

The first UFC main event of 2023 was officially changed after Gastelum was forced to withdraw from his bout against Nassourdine Imavov due to a mouth injury. 'Tarzan' will now step in as his replacement against Imavov in what will now be a light heavyweight bout.

Imavov vs. Gastelum is the second fight in the event that didn't come to fruition as Geoff Neal was also forced to withdraw from his originally scheduled bout with Shavkat Rakhmonov, and the bout was moved to UFC 285 instead.

Nassourdine Imavov has an MMA record of 12-3 and is currently riding a three-fight winning streak that includes wins against Ian Heinisch, Edmen Shahbazyan, and Joaquin Buckley.

Sean Strickland competing in back-to-back UFC events

The No.7-ranked UFC middleweight most recently fought No.3-ranked middleweight Jared Cannonier at UFC Vegas 66, where he lost a split decision. He is taking a big risk as he is on a two-fight losing skid that includes his split decision loss to Cannonier and a knockout loss to reigning middleweight champion Alex Pereira.

However, if the 31-year-old can snap his losing skid against Imavov, he could get back into the title picture at 185lbs. Prior to his losing skid, 'Tarzan' was on a six-fight tear that saw him defeat the likes of Uriah Hall and Jack Hermansson.