Author: Guilherme Cruz

The heavyweight clash between Guto Inocente and Shane del Rosario has been scrapped from UFC 168 card.

UFC announced on Thursday that both Inocente and del Rosario has sustained injures and won’t be able to compete on Dec. 28 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Inocente (6-2) hasn’t fought since May 2012, when he scored a unanimous decision victory over Virgil Zwicker in his Strikeforce debut as a light heavyweight. A former Shooto South American champion, Inocente, has won four straight figts.

del Rosario (11-2) signed a contract with the UFC after racking up 11 stoppage wins in 11 professional MMA fights, but didn’t win his pair of UFC bouts. The 30-year-old heavyweight has suffered knockout losses to Pat Barry and Stipe Miocic inside the Octagon.

“I was going to fight him with an injured knee, but my team and the UFC thought it would be better to wait and move this fight for the next year,” Inocente told MMAFighting.com. “I’m going to have an ACL surgery on Monday and I hope to fight in April.”

“I fought (Zwicker) with my left hand hurt, and I’m going to have my third straight surgery now.”

GOIANIA, Brazil — Undefeated in the UFC as a welterweight, Sergio Moraes was forced to pull out of his bout with Zak Cummings on Nov. 30 at The Ultimate Fighter 18 Finale.

The jiu-jitsu expert, who was last seen inside the Octagon in a first-round submission victory over Neil Magny at UFC 163, suffered an injury in his left knee and decided to postpone his return to the UFC.

“I hurt my knee and tried to continue training, but I was in pain every time I started to train,” Moraes told MMAFighting.com. “When I did the MRI, the doctor told me I had torn the meniscus. My coach and managers decided to pull out of the fight. We need to respect my opponent and I can’t get there if not at 100 percent.”

Moraes (8-2) won’t be able to fight anytime soon, but is confident that his body will react well after another knee surgery.

“I have two injuries in the same knee, but it’s a simple surgery,” he said. “I had surgery in the other knee before, too. The knee that was bad is good now, and the one that was good is bad (laughs).

“Let’s buy a new knee and go back in there as soon as possible. I’ll implant some adamantium so I won’t break anymore (laughs).”

Moraes is 2-0 at 170 in the UFC, with a pair of submission victories over Magny and Renee Forte. In his Octagon debut, in the middleweight division, Moraes suffered a unanimous decision loss to Cezar Ferreira at TUF: Brazil finale, on June 2012.

GOIANIA, Brazil — Undefeated in the UFC as a welterweight, Sergio Moraes was forced to pull out of his bout with Zak Cummings on Nov. 30 at The Ultimate Fighter 18 Finale.

The jiu-jitsu expert, who was last seen inside the Octagon in a first-round submission victory over Neil Magny at UFC 163, suffered an injury in his left knee and decided to postpone his return to the UFC.

“I hurt my knee and tried to continue training, but I was in pain every time I started to train,” Moraes told MMAFighting.com. “When I did the MRI, the doctor told me I had torn the meniscus. My coach and managers decided to pull out of the fight. We need to respect my opponent and I can’t get there if not at 100 percent.”

Moraes (8-2) won’t be able to fight anytime soon, but is confident that his body will react well after another knee surgery.

“I have two injuries in the same knee, but it’s a simple surgery,” he said. “I had surgery in the other knee before, too. The knee that was bad is good now, and the one that was good is bad (laughs).

“Let’s buy a new knee and go back in there as soon as possible. I’ll implant some adamantium so I won’t break anymore (laughs).”

Moraes is 2-0 at 170 in the UFC, with a pair of submission victories over Magny and Renee Forte. In his Octagon debut, in the middleweight division, Moraes suffered a unanimous decision loss to Cezar Ferreira at TUF: Brazil finale, on June 2012.

Another exciting middleweight match-up has been added to UFC’s first tip to Brazil on 2014.

UFC announced on Tuesday that Ronaldo Souza and Francis Carmont will meet on Feb. 15 in Jaragua do Sul, Santa Catarina. The card, originally planned for Feb. 8, was moved a week later because of TV schedule, sources in the UFC told MMAFighting.com

The UFC Fight Night card will be headlined by Lyoto Machida vs. Gegard Mousasi.

A former Strikeforce middleweight champion, “Jacare” (19-3, 1 no-contest), looked unstoppable in his pair of UFC wins. Following a quick submission victory over Chris Camozzi in Jaragua do Sul last May, the jiu-jitsu wizard dominated Yushin Okami at UFC Fight Night 28 and recorded a first-round knockout win.

Riding an 11-fight win streak, Carmont (22-7) defeated Constantinos Philippou in his last appearance inside the Octagon at UFC 165. The French middleweight has won 16 of his fights with finishes, 10 by way of submission, and will have the opportunity to test his ground skills against Souza.

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil — Vitor Belfort demolished Dan Henderson at UFC Fight Night 32, and you can’t say he beat the Pride legend because of his testosterone replacement therapy (TRT).

Belfort vs. Henderson was the first UFC bout featuring two fighters on TRT, and Belfort needed only 77 seconds to become the first fighter to ever finish Henderson with strikes.

Days after the bout, the Brazilian revealed that his testosterone levels were above the normal for the fight.

“My (testosterone) levels were low in my last fight,” Belfort told MMAFighting.com during a media scrum in his gym in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. “I have all the exams to prove that I have a disease. It’s simple.”

Brazilian MMA Athletic Commission’s medical director Dr. Marcio Tannure explained to MMAFighting.com that one of Belfort’s pre-fight tests were below the normal limits, but that’s “legal.”

In a recent interview with UOL, Belfort revealed that he started his testosterone therapy three years ago, and that would mean he started doing TRT before his title fight with Anderson Silva at UFC 126 in Las Vegas, Nev.

“When was that fight? I don’t remember when I started my treatment, actually,” he said. “But I believe it was around that time.”

“The Phenom” is confident that he would get licensed and granted a TUE for TRT in case UFC wants to match him against the winner of Chris Weidman vs. Anderson Silva in Las Vegas, where he hasn’t fought since.

“Chael Sonnen has a license to fight in Vegas, and I’m doing everything by the book,” Belfort said. “I have all the exams to prove it.”

All 22 UFC Fight Night 32 fighters passed their pre- and post-fight drug tests.

Brazilian MMA Athletic Commission’s medical director Dr. Marcio Tannure revealed to MMAFighting.com that the CABMMA tested every fighter before their bouts on Nov. 9 in Goiania, Brazil.

After the event, Vitor Belfort and Dan Henderson were tested again, in addition to four other randomly selected fighters.

Belfort and Henderson were granted exemptions for testosterone-replacement therapy. Both tests came back with normal levels after their light-heavyweight bout.

The fight lasted just 77 seconds, and Belfort became the first fighter to finish Henderson with punches.