One of the featured fights on the upcoming UFC Fight Night 29 card has been scrapped after injuries to both Jeremy Stephens and Rony Jason.
Over the weekend, Jason, a former Ultimate Fighter Brazil winner from the first season of the international show, was pulled from the fight after an MRI was done on the fighter and revealed an injury that forced the CABMMA (Brazilian Athletic Commission) to pull him from the card.
Details about the injury were not available from the commission in terms of how long Jason would be out or the severity of the nature of the ailment.
Now it seems his opponent Jeremy Stephens will also be pulled from the fight card after he suffered an injury leading into the show as well.
According to Stephens’ manager Ryan Hass from EVO Agents, who spoke to Bleacher Report on Monday, the featherweight slugger was dealing with an injury that’s kept him out of the gym for over a week.
Stephens was suffering from a leg injury that kept him off his feet for more than a week, but the San Diego-based featherweight was planning on pushing through and traveling to Brazil for the fight until Jason pulled out of the bout.
With Jason out of the fight and no replacement currently in place, Stephens opted to back out of the card as well to allow his leg time to heal.
Hass said the injury that Stephens suffered isn’t expected to keep him out of action for much time, and the UFC may even contemplate re-booking the fight for a later date, but there’s no confirmation at this time.
Stephens found new life at featherweight after spending most of his career as a lightweight fighter. He picked up a dominant win back at UFC 160 in his debut at 145 pounds where he brutalized Estevan Payan over the course of three rounds.
The Iowa native hoped to jump right into the deep end of the featherweight division, which prompted his fight with Jason, who is on a three-fight win streak since winning his season of the reality show in Brazil.
Damon Martin is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report.
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