Man, this ain’t even funny anymore. After a brutal two-week period that saw the injury withdrawals of Vitor Belfort, Chad Griggs, Thiago Silva, Jon Fitch, Thiago Alves, and Brian Stann (as well as supporting players like Pablo Garza and Edwin Figueroa), news broke late last night that UFC middleweight star Michael Bisping is out of his meeting with Tim Boetsch at UFC 149 (July 21st, Calgary) due to an undisclosed injury.
Boetsch will remain on the “Aldo vs. Koch” main card against Hector Lombard, who was scheduled to make his Octagon debut at UFC on FOX 4 two weeks later until Brian Stann pulled out with a dinged shoulder. Lombard vs. Boetsch should be a hell of a brawl — unless losing two weeks of preparation throws the former Bellator champ off his game. Who ya got on that one?
With Lombard off of the UFC on FOX 4 lineup, the August 4th event has picked up a brand new main event…
The UFC has confirmed that Mauricio “Shogun” Rua will now headline the card against Brandon Vera. Shogun is coming off his 2011 Fight of the Year against Dan Henderson at UFC 139 last November, while Vera most recently out-pointed Eliot Marshall at UFC 137 in October — his first victory in over two years. Before he was drafted for this card, Vera was originally supposed to face James Te-Huna at UFC on Fuel TV 4 on July 11th.
Does “The Truth” deserve a headlining spot on a major UFC card at this point? Probably not. But as you can see, the UFC is losing warm bodies on a daily basis, and their options are limited. Where’s your God reason and science now, Joe Silva?
