UFC Atlanta hit with major change due to fight week medical issue

Charles Jourdain Withdraws From UFC Atlanta

UFC 316 thankfully stayed intact after the week’s previous UFC Fight Night event experienced a number of changes during fight week, but unfortunately UFC Atlanta has also been hit with a major change just days out from the event with the withdrawal of Charles Jourdain.

"It is with deep sorrow that I announce my first withdrawal from my fight in 15 UFC appearances. Unfortunately, I was not medically cleared due to a condition requiring surgical intervention. I trust this is part of a greater plan, and I’m committed to returning stronger."

A longtime member of the UFC featherweight division, Jourdain dropped down to bantamweight last November and submitted Victor Henry to snap a two-fight skid before he was booked to meet Ricky Simón at UFC Atlanta this weekend.

Cameron Smotherman Steps Up To Fight Ricky Simón

It’s never easy to find replacement fighters on short notice, but it didn’t take long after the Jourdain news broke for Marcel Dorff to report that Cameron Smotherman will step in to fight Simón on Saturday night.

A former Fury FC bantamweight champion, Smotherman scored a sizeable upset in his UFC debut last year when he defeated Jake Hadley before “The Baby-Faced Killer” suffered a unanimous decision loss to Serhiy Sidey in his sophomore UFC outing in May.

The 27-year-old now has a huge opportunity to rebound in Atlanta against longtime UFC veteran Simón, who was previously a staple of the bantamweight Top 15 and snapped a three-fight losing streak earlier this year with a first-round knockout of Javid Basharat that earned him a “Performance of the Night” bonus.

UFC Atlanta was already hit with a couple of changes last week when Vanessa Demopoulos stepped in to replace Tereza Bledá and a bantamweight bout between Malcolm Wellmaker and Kris Moutinho was added to the card, and with the addition of Smotherman the event currently looks like this:

• Main Event: Kamaru Usman vs. Joaquin Buckley

• Co-Main Event: Rose Namajunas vs. Miranda Maverick

• Edmen Shahbazyan vs. Andre Petroski

• Cody Garbrandt vs. Raoni Barcelos

• Cody Brundage vs. Mansur Abdul-Malik

• Alonzo Menifield vs. Oumar Sy

• Paul Craig vs. Rodolfo Bellato

• Michael Chiesa vs. Court McGee

• Malcolm Wellmaker vs. Kirs Moutinho

• Cody Durden vs. Jose Ochoa

• Ricky Simón vs. Cameron Smotherman

• Phil Rowe vs. Ange Loosa

• Vanessa Demopoulos vs. Jamey-Lyn Horth

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