The UFC St. Louis card is official as of Friday morning, but unfortunately the event is down a fight.
Friday’s official weigh-in was an orderly affair when it kicked off at 9AM local time in St. Louis, with the bulk of the line-up weighing in early, and all fighters hitting their mark. A couple of heavyweights were among the last to weigh in, including headliner Derrick Lewis, who tipped the scales at 264 pounds. One fighter, however, did not make it to the scale: Jared Gooden.
UFC officials announced towards 10AM local time that Gooden would not be weighing in due to a medical issue. As a result, his fight with French welterweight Kevin Jousset has been cancelled.
No details on the medical issue experienced by Gooden were disclosed. “Due to a medical problem, Jared Gooden cannot take the scales. His fight against Kevin Jousset is therefore canceled,” a statement on the UFC’s official French Twitter/X account read (translation via Google Translate).
Gooden is on his second UFC stint, and while he did not weigh in on Friday, he has struggled with weight management before. He’s missed weight twice under the UFC banner, first for a 2021 bout with Randy Brown, and more recently in his return to the promotion against Carlston Harris last year.
In December, Jared Gooden picked up a Performance of the Night bonus for his submission of Wellington Turman.
