It’s happening.
UFC on Fox 9, one of the most stacked fight cards in recent memory, is deteriorating at a rapid pace.
First, the originally scheduled main event between lightweight champion Anthony Pettis and challenger Josh Thomson was scratched after Pettis suffered a knee injury in training.
OK, that wasn’t cool, but the UFC quickly replaced that bout with a flyweight title fight between Demetrious Johnson and Joseph Benavidez, so all was not lost.
But then another injury, this time to Jamie Varner, forced a fighter off the card. Varner was scheduled to face Pat Healy in one of the night’s preliminary bouts.
Well, that fight probably would have been fun, but the card is still good, right?
Yes, it is, but as the hours pass, it becomes weaker and weaker.
Kelvin Gastelum, the winner of Season 17 of The Ultimate Fighter, recently published the following tweet, adding his name to the list of UFC on Fox 9 participants bitten by the injury bug:
The good news here is that Gastelum says he will not need surgery and will only be out four to six weeks.
Still, he is out of UFC on Fox 9, weakening what was once thought to be a potential Card of the Year candidate.
According to MMAJunkie.com, the UFC is searching for a replacement fighter to take on Court McGee. With much of the division tied up in current matchups, the pickings are slim, but one name immediately comes to mind.
Adlan Amagov, who recently obliterated TJ Waldburger at UFC 166 in October, could make a quick turnaround and fill in for Gastelum on short notice.
He received no damage in that bout, and, with Greg Jackson in his corner, he would be well prepared for the mental and physical rigors of a late-replacement bout.
Until then, fans can rest easy in knowing that matchups like Carlos Condit vs. Matt Brown and Urijah Faber vs. Michael McDonald have not been scrapped…yet.
Stay tuned for more information regarding McGee’s situation as it develops.
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