The UFC’s search for a suitable opponent for Eddie Wineland has yielded no one, leading to the bantamweight getting pulled from the UFC 161 main event alongside the injured interim champ Renan Barao.
Wineland, who is coming off two straight wins against Scott Jorgensen and Brad Pickett, was supposed to fight Barao for the interim title on June 15. But with both the Brazilian and reigning 135-pound kingpin Dominick Cruz on the sidelines, it seems there are no suitable options for the 28-year-old.
Instead, light heavyweights Rashad Evans and Dan Henderson will clash in the main event in Winnipeg, Canada, with no guarantee that Wineland will be re-booked to face Barao.
UFC officials confirmed with MMA Junkie that, with Barao‘s recovery timetable unknown, “Wineland isn’t necessarily guaranteed a rebooking with the titleholder.”
Wineland, a former WEC champ, had a rocky start to his UFC career, losing his first two matches in the promotion against Urijah Faber and Joseph Benavidez. However, he currently sits fifth in the UFC’s 135-pound rankings behind Cruz, Barao, Faber and Michael McDonald.
Both Faber and McDonald have no scheduled fights at the moment and neither fighter has fought since February and April, respectively. A No. 1 contender fight against McDonald would have made sense – neither Wineland nor McDonald have yet faced the Brazilian or each other – but it seems that that prospect is not on the table.
Perhaps the UFC is eyeing Cruz’s return for a possible title-reunification bout with Barao. There is no indication when the champ would return to the cage, but in April, UFC president Dana White sounded a note of optimism that he would be back in 2013.
For now, the UFC 161 main card has Evans v Henderson at the top of the bill, preceded by Antonio Rogerio Nogueira against Mauricio Rua, heavyweight Stipe Miocic against Roy Nelson, women’s bantamweight Alexis Davis against Rosie Sexton and heavyweight Pat Barry against Shawn Jordan.
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