Oh God, No: Dominick Cruz Tears ACL in Right Knee, Return Date Unknown


(It’s official — Dominick Cruz is the most cursed fighter in MMA history. / Photo via Getty)

The world is a dark, senseless place. The evil are allowed to roam unpunished, while the good-hearted are forced to suffer and suffer and suffer. I don’t know how else to set up this news, but look, Dominick Cruz blew out his knee again. No not that knee, the other knee. As he wrote on his Facebook page today:

It is with great sadness to report I have experienced another ACL injury. This time it’s in the right knee, opposite side of my first and second ACL injuries. Leading up to my last fight in September and after, I have practiced a very careful and methodical training and diet regime to keep my body healthy. Unfortunately, this is beyond my understanding and control. I don’t have a timetable for my return but trust and know I will pour my heart and soul into returning to the Octagon. I want to thank the UFC, my fans and my sponsors ahead of time for your support and prayers. I appreciate you more than you could understand. I don’t have any other facts to share right now. I, along with my camp, respectfully request privacy at this difficult time. Thank You.

Cruz’s previous knee injuries cost him three full years of his competitive prime, as well as the UFC bantamweight title belt that he’d defended twice in 2011. When he finally returned at UFC 178, he needed just 61 seconds to lay a hellacious, cathartic beatdown on Takeya Mizugaki. Every fan of the Dominator was already looking forward to seeing him tangle with current champ TJ Dillashaw in the spring. Now, that won’t happen. Cruz will go back into surgery and rehab, and the UFC bantamweight division will go back to being a weight class you only sort of care about.

Merry goddamned Christmas.


(It’s official — Dominick Cruz is the most cursed fighter in MMA history. / Photo via Getty)

The world is a dark, senseless place. The evil are allowed to roam unpunished, while the good-hearted are forced to suffer and suffer and suffer. I don’t know how else to set up this news, but look, Dominick Cruz blew out his knee again. No not that knee, the other knee. As he wrote on his Facebook page today:

It is with great sadness to report I have experienced another ACL injury. This time it’s in the right knee, opposite side of my first and second ACL injuries. Leading up to my last fight in September and after, I have practiced a very careful and methodical training and diet regime to keep my body healthy. Unfortunately, this is beyond my understanding and control. I don’t have a timetable for my return but trust and know I will pour my heart and soul into returning to the Octagon. I want to thank the UFC, my fans and my sponsors ahead of time for your support and prayers. I appreciate you more than you could understand. I don’t have any other facts to share right now. I, along with my camp, respectfully request privacy at this difficult time. Thank You.

Cruz’s previous knee injuries cost him three full years of his competitive prime, as well as the UFC bantamweight title belt that he’d defended twice in 2011. When he finally returned at UFC 178, he needed just 61 seconds to lay a hellacious, cathartic beatdown on Takeya Mizugaki. Every fan of the Dominator was already looking forward to seeing him tangle with current champ TJ Dillashaw in the spring. Now, that won’t happen. Cruz will go back into surgery and rehab, and the UFC bantamweight division will go back to being a weight class you only sort of care about.

Merry goddamned Christmas.

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira Pulls Out of Alexander Gustafsson Fight With Back Injury


(The Nogueira brothers: Keeping doctors busy since 1976. / Photo via Sherdog)

It’s been less than a week since we reported that light-heavyweight contender Alexander Gustafsson would be facing Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in the main event of UFC Fight Night 36 (March 8th, London), but that matchup has already been scratched. MMAFighting confirmed yesterday that Nogueira has been forced to withdraw due to a lingering back injury. A replacement opponent hasn’t yet been announced for Gustafsson. For the record, Daniel Cormier has already stated that he wouldn’t want to make his light-heavyweight debut overseas, so he may not be an option.

During his time in the UFC, Lil’ Nog has been plagued by injuries to an almost James Irvin-esque degree. Since his UFC debut in 2009, Nogueira has withdrawn from a fight against Brandon Vera at UFC 109 (ankle injury), a fight against Rich Franklin at UFC 133 (shoulder injury), a previously-scheduled match against Gustafsson at UFC on FUEL 2 (knee injury), and a “PRIDE Neva Die!” rematch against Mauricio Rua at UFC 161 (back injury).

Reportedly, Nogueira will be ready to fight again in May 2014, but honestly, who knows. We’ll update you when Gustafsson gets his next opponent booked.


(The Nogueira brothers: Keeping doctors busy since 1976. / Photo via Sherdog)

It’s been less than a week since we reported that light-heavyweight contender Alexander Gustafsson would be facing Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in the main event of UFC Fight Night 36 (March 8th, London), but that matchup has already been scratched. MMAFighting confirmed yesterday that Nogueira has been forced to withdraw due to a lingering back injury. A replacement opponent hasn’t yet been announced for Gustafsson. For the record, Daniel Cormier has already stated that he wouldn’t want to make his light-heavyweight debut overseas, so he may not be an option.

During his time in the UFC, Lil’ Nog has been plagued by injuries to an almost James Irvin-esque degree. Since his UFC debut in 2009, Nogueira has withdrawn from a fight against Brandon Vera at UFC 109 (ankle injury), a fight against Rich Franklin at UFC 133 (shoulder injury), a previously-scheduled match against Gustafsson at UFC on FUEL 2 (knee injury), and a “PRIDE Neva Die!” rematch against Mauricio Rua at UFC 161 (back injury).

Reportedly, Nogueira will be ready to fight again in May 2014, but honestly, who knows. We’ll update you when Gustafsson gets his next opponent booked.

Rumor: Chad Mendes vs. Clay Guida Being Rebooked, Possibly for UFC 164


(Guida engages the UFC on FOX: Johnson vs. Dodson audience in the ancient Native American dance known as the “Iwannanothadrinka.” Photo via Combat Lifestyle.)

We’ve thrown the word “curse” around a lot here at CagePotato in the past year or so (as in “injury curse,” “cursed from birth,” and “curse you Dana for setting this up!”), but featherweight contender Chad Mendes is one of the few fighters who might actually be able to stake a claim to that title. In his past three scheduled fights, all of his original opponents have pulled out due to a last minute injury, leaving Mendes to face off against late replacement opponents on two occasions and cancelling his fight altogether in the third. Then again, any curse that ends in you collecting two quick knockouts and upwards of eighty thousand dollars is a hell of a lot better than the festering boils and dead first born I’ve been stuck with.

Anyway, the last man to pull out of a fight with Mendes was none other than recently-converted featherweight Clay “N-Pray” [*rimshot*] Guida, who was replaced by Darren Elkins just as quickly as Darren Elkins was defeated by Chad Mendes when the two eventually met at UFC on FOX: Henderson vs. Diaz. According to Ariel Helwani, the UFC is considering rebooking Mendes vs. Guida for the August 31st-scheduled UFC 164 card, which will also feature the beginning of Brandon Vera’s second attempt to become the UFC’s first two-division champ when he returns to the heavyweight division to face…Ben Rothwell. Baby steps, folks.


(Guida engages the UFC on FOX: Johnson vs. Dodson audience in the ancient Native American dance known as the “Iwannanothadrinka.” Photo via Combat Lifestyle.)

We’ve thrown the word “curse” around a lot here at CagePotato in the past year or so (as in “injury curse,” “cursed from birth,” and “curse you Dana for setting this up!”), but featherweight contender Chad Mendes is one of the few fighters who might actually be able to stake a claim to that title. In his past three scheduled fights, all of his original opponents have pulled out due to a last minute injury, leaving Mendes to face off against late replacement opponents on two occasions and cancelling his fight altogether in the third. Then again, any curse that ends in you collecting two quick knockouts and upwards of eighty thousand dollars is a hell of a lot better than the festering boils and dead first born I’ve been stuck with.

Anyway, the last man to pull out of a fight with Mendes was none other than recently-converted featherweight Clay “N-Pray” [*rimshot*] Guida, who was replaced by Darren Elkins just as quickly as Darren Elkins was defeated by Chad Mendes when the two eventually met at UFC on FOX: Henderson vs. Diaz. According to Ariel Helwani, the UFC is considering rebooking Mendes vs. Guida for the August 31st-scheduled UFC 164 card, which will also feature the beginning of Brandon Vera’s second attempt to become the UFC’s first two-division champ when he returns to the heavyweight division to face…Ben Rothwell. Baby steps, folks.

Although the booking “isn’t 100% yet,” it’s hard to deny that this fight makes just as much sense as it did previously, if not more. Mendes wiped the floor with Elkins — who was on an impressive five-fight streak of his own — in his last contest, and Guida is on the heels of a featherweight debut victory over the highly-ranked Hatsu Hioki. An impressive victory for either man could put them in a prime position for a shot at Jose Aldo (or in Mendes’ case, another lesson in humility shot).

Then again, who knows what the fuck the state of the featherweight division will be after Anthony Pettis fights Aldo at UFC 163. We could be left with a new featherweight champion who has no interest remaining at featherweight, the “old” featherweight champion who now has his sights set on fighting the lightweight champion, or a fight that ends in controversy so we can start this whole thing over again. In any case, we’re pretty sure the winner of the Ricardo Lamas/Chan Sung Jung fight will be getting royally screwed over. Again.

J. Jones

Manny Gamburyan Earns Spot on UFC Injury Leaderboard, Pulls Out of May 18th Bout Against Hacran Dias


(…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.


(…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.

CagePotato Presents: The James Irvin ‘Why Me?’ Timeline [INFOGRAPHIC]

In addition to being one of the least decision-prone fighters to ever grace the OctagonJames Irvin is also notorious for being the unluckiest bastard in the history of the sport. From poorly-timed injuries and ill-advised weight cuts to chemical misadventures and freak accidents, the Sandman has suffered through enough hardships to fill the careers of ten journeymen. So with the help of our friends at Havoc Store, we put together an illustrated timeline of the most unfortunate moments in Irvin’s MMA career, which you can check out after the jump.

Enjoy, share it with your friends, and show some love to Havoc Store by visiting their blog or following them on Facebook. And James? You have our sympathy, dude.

In addition to being one of the least decision-prone fighters to ever grace the OctagonJames Irvin is also notorious for being the unluckiest bastard in the history of the sport. From poorly-timed injuries and ill-advised weight cuts to chemical misadventures and freak accidents, the Sandman has suffered through enough hardships to fill the careers of ten journeymen. So with the help of our friends at Havoc Store, we put together an illustrated timeline of the most unfortunate moments in Irvin’s MMA career, which you can check out after the jump.

Enjoy, share it with your friends, and show some love to Havoc Store by visiting their blog or following them on Facebook. And James? You have our sympathy, dude.

(click image for larger version)