With the withdrawal of former WEC featherweight contender Manvel Gamburyan (11-6) from an upcoming UFC 135 bout in September, his opponent Diego “The Gun” Nunes (16-2) has opted to wait for ‘The Pitbull’ to recover rather than taking on a new fight.
Nunes confirmed the news with Sherdog.com on Monday telling them that he’s dealing with his own injuries and is willing to wait for Gamburyan in order to bring their feud to a boiling point.
Both fighters have exchanged words in the past as members of the WEC when Gamburyan challenged Nunes teammate, Jose Aldo for the featherweight title.
“I won’t fight [at UFC 135] anymore. The UFC didn’t find an opponent quickly and I also got injured in training,” Nunes explained Monday to Sherdog.com. “I’m suffering with painful tendonitis in my left arm, and I also had a problem in my hometown, where some people tried to murder my father. It was the best decision [to postpone the fight] so I can travel south to see my family.”
“I think I will face him. That’s my main focus now,” Nunes said, noting that he could return to action in December. “When I give the green light to my manager, after I’m fully recovered, I’ll talk to him and see if the UFC can match us. I would rather fight more tough and named guys, but we have this feud and it will be cool.”
UFC 135 is scheduled to take place on September 24 at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado.