(…and from the looks of him, he might have food-poisoning as well. Photo via FightDay/UFC)
From Vitor Belfort to Paul Taylor to Sean Sherk to James Irvin, we’ve seen our share of injury-cursed UFC fighters over the years — and now it’s time to add one more name to this dubious list. It was announced yesterday that Manny Gamburyan has suffered an undisclosed training injury and will not be able to face Hacran Dias at UFC on FX 8 (May 18th; Jaraguá do Sul, Brazil). This marks the fourth fight that Gamburyan has had to pull out of since returning to the UFC in 2011. A quick recap…
– Following the WEC’s merger with the UFC, Gamburyan was scheduled to face Raphael Assuncao at UFC 128 in March 2011, but was forced out of the match with a back injury.
– Gamburyan was scheduled to face Diego Nunes at UFC 135 in September 2011, but was forced to withdraw due to a shoulder injury.
– Gamburyan was scheduled to face Chad Mendes at UFC 157 last month, but had to withdraw due to a thumb injury.
And keep in mind, Gamburyan’s quest to become the winner of TUF 5 in 2007 ended suddenly when he suffered a shoulder injury during his fight with Nate Diaz. I think it’s safe to say that Manny’s general practitioner knows who he is, bro.
Gamburyan will be replaced at UFC on FX 8 by Nik Lentz, who is 2-0 since dropping to featherweight, and most recently took a unanimous decision over Diego Nunes at UFC on FX: Belfort vs. Bisping.