It seems as though Michael Chiesa‘s long awaited Ultimate Fighter encore is going to have to wait until 2013.
That’s because the former TUF star has contracted a sickness, which will prevent him from battling Marcus LeVesseur at UFC on FOX 5 Dec. 8, as he had been scheduled to do.
The disappointing news broke from the UFC’s Twitter account:
TUF Live winner Michael Chiesa forced of Saturday’s Seattle card due to illness—get well soon, @mikemav22
Chiesa‘s first and last UFC action came this June, when he defeated Team Faber colleague Al Iaquinta to assert himself as the The Ultimate Fighter Live champion. “Maverick” impressed in that bout, scoring a first round submission win over the highly regarded Iaquinta, garnering Submission of the Night honors for his effort.
Unfortunately, Chiesa has been unable to get back into action since the spring. The TUF champ was originally slated to face Rafaello Oliveira at UFC on FOX 5 opponent, but “The Tractor” was forced to withdraw after breaking his hand in training.
Oliveira‘s place was taken by LaVesseur, who is now high-and-dry, looking for an opponent of his own to replace the ailing Chiesa.
UFC on FOX 5 will be headlined by a lightweight title fight between Ben Henderson and Nate Diaz. The card will also feature matches between Mauricio Rua and Alexander Gustafsson and Rory MacDonald and B.J. Penn.
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