Tatsuya Kawajiri has suffered a detached retina, and as a result, will be out of action indefinitely.
According to sources close to “The Crusher,” Kawajiri is scheduled to have surgery on his left eye July 28 in Japan. He had been in talks to fight Darren Elkins on Sept. 20 in Saitama, Japan, however, that fight is now off due to the injury.
Doctors have yet to determine how long Kawajiri will be out for because this marks the third time he has suffered a detached retina in his left eye. The first two times happened when he was competing for PRIDE and Shooto. This time around, he suffered the injury during a sparring session.
The 36-year-old Kawajiri (33-8-2) most recently lost a unanimous decision to Clay Guida in April, dropping his UFC record to 1-1. He defeated Sean Soriano via second-round rear-naked choke in January.