Christos Giagos announces withdrawal from UFC Paris due to freak hand injury

Christos Giagos won’t be fighting at UFC Paris after injuring his hand in a freak accident.

The veteran lightweight was scheduled to fight Benoit Saint Denis on Sept. 3, but Giagos announced Monday via Instagram that he sliced open a finger on his right hand during house cleaning and he has been forced to withdraw.

“It kills me writing this so I’ll keep it short,” Giagos wrote. “I was getting some cleaning done and while wiping down a piece of my grill in the trash my hand hit a broken porcelain toilet and gashed my hand open, cutting a tendon in my pinky.

“Unfortunately, due to the severity of the injury I had to pull out of my upcoming fight in Paris. I was praying the damage wasn’t bad so I could still take the fight, but that wasn’t the case.

“I went to a hand specialist today to check the damage and had to undergo a minor surgery to reattach my pinky tendon. My focus is to get healed up as fast as possible. As much as this pains me, the only thing I have control over is how quickly I get back.”

It is not yet known if officials will seek a replacement opponent to fight Saint Denis at UFC Paris.

Giagos (19-10) looked to snap a two-fight losing streak. This past June, he was submitted in the first round by Thiago Moises. In his second run with the UFC, Giagos has compiled a 4-4 record.