UFC middleweight Alan Belcher (16-6) made the announcement on Sunday that he was withdrawing from his main event bout against Demian Maia at the “UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. Belcher” event scheduled for September 15.
Belcher made the announcement on his Twitter account, noting that he suffered a detached retina and has already undergone surgery to repair the eye.
While I was in brazil I started losing my vision in my right eye. I saw a dr that told me to go back to us immediately. My friend/surgeon from biloxi got me an emergency surgery scheduled in alabama now just trying to recover. No contact for 6 weeks. Sorry to my trainers. Sorry to ufc & demian Maia, I know he has been training specifically for me. Sorry to my fans as well. As long as I get released from dr I will try to make ufn 22 to see my fans and watch the fights
Belcher has currently won his last two fights defeating Patrick Côté at UFC 113 by submission (rear-naked choke) and Wilson Gouveia by TKO in December in a 195 pound catchweight bout at UFC 107.
Maia is looking to rebound from a loss against middleweight champ Anderson Silva at UFC 112 and earn a second shot at the title. He’s 1-2 in his past three having defeated Dan Miller in February at UFC 109 via unanimous decision.
No word yet on a replacement for Belcher at the event, but The MMA News will keep our readers posted.