(At least there will always be this to tide us over.)
Bad news for any of you Brits out there planning on attending UFC 138 (because, let’s be honest, you will be the only ones doing so.) Word has it that Paul Taylor has suffered minor whiplash as a result of a recent rear-end collision he was involved in and will not be competing in his main card lightweight clash with Anthony Njokuani.
As you may or may not remember, this is not the first time Taylor has been forced to pull out of a fight at the last minute. Back at UFC 112, he was deemed medically unfit to compete just days before his bout with John Gunderson after suffering a severe migraine as a result of his weight cut. This marks the third total fight in Taylor’s UFC career that he has withdrawn from as a result of injury. One more, and he will be entering James Irvin territory, which is second only to Cabrini-Green in terms of places no one ever wants to find themself.
Taylor, who most recently shellacked UFC punching bag/Paris Hilton trainer Gabe Rudiger back at UFC 126, has gone 3-3 in his last 6 bouts, with all of those victories coming over now released fighters. Njokuani on the other hand, is coming off an impressive decision victory over TUF 9 finalist Andre Winner, but will now be forced to withdraw from the card due to a lack of a replaceable opponent.
Moving up to the main card as a result will be the light heavyweight bout between Australian submission specialist Anthony “Hippo” Perosh and French stiker Cyrille Diabate. After going 0-2 in his first UFC tour of duty, Perosh was called back to the big leagues at UFC 110, where he suffered a second round doctor stoppage loss to Mirko Cro Cop. Perosh was able to bounce back and earn his first UFC win at UFC 127 however, scoring a first round rear-naked choke over Tom Blackledge.
He is facing a tough test in Diabate, a lethal striker and PRIDE veteran who has gone 2-1 in his octagon career, scoring perhaps his most notable victory in his debut, where he knocked out Luis Cane in just over 2 minutes. After suffering a second round submission in his sophomore match to Alexander Gustafsson, “The Snake” will be looking to build on his most recent victory, a somewhat lackluster decision over Steve Cantwell at UFC on Versus 3.
UFC 138 is set to transpire on November 5th and will be broadcast live in the US on Spike.
-Danga