Rani Yahya out of UFC Vegas 58 fight with Cody Garbrandt due to neck injury

Cody Garbrandt has been left without an opponent for UFC Vegas 58 on July 9 after Rani Yahya suffered a neck injury, multiple people with knowledge of the situation told MMA Fighting on Monday following a report from BJPenn.com.

Yahya is expected to be sidelined from training for at least four weeks and currently has no timetable for his return to the cage, MMA Fighting learned.

The Brazilian bantamweight, who has only lost once in five years, was looking to extend his winning streak to three straight following victories over Ray Rodriguez and Kyung Ho Kang.

The UFC has yet to decide what’s next for Garbrandt, a former UFC champion who is set to move back up to the 135-pound division after suffering a first-round knockout loss to flyweight contender Kai Kara-France in December.

Garbrandt’s knockout victory over Raphael Assuncao in June 2020 is his only win over his past six bouts, a run that includes stoppage losses to T.J. Dillashaw (twice) and Pedro Munhoz, as well as a five-round decision setback opposite Rob Font.

UFC Vegas 58 is scheduled to take place at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas and feature Rafael dos Anjos vs. Rafael Fiziev in a lightweight headliner.

Mike Heck contributed to this report.