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 Since his UFC debut in 2009, Nogueira has withdrawn from a fight against Brandon Vera at UFC 109 (ankle injury), a fight against Rich Franklin at UFC 133 (shoulder injury), a previously-scheduled match against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 Since his UFC debut in 2009, Nogueira has withdrawn from a fight against Brandon Vera at UFC 109 (ankle injury), a fight against Rich Franklin at UFC 133 (shoulder injury), a previously-scheduled match against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.

Report: Aleksandra Albu Injured, Out of UFC Debut Against Julie Kedzie


(Really? Because she looks fine to me. Yeah, baby. She lookin’ fiiiiiiine. / Photo via Facebook.com/aleksandraalburussia)

You may remember Aleksandra Albu as the recent UFC signee with the suspicious record and tight body who was supposed to fight Julie Kedzie at UFC Fight Night 33 in December. Unfortunately, the Russian striker might not be gracing us with her presence quite yet. According to an SI.com report (which cites…nobody), Albu has withdrawn from the matchup due an unspecified injury. Cat scratch fever, perhaps.

“I’m disappointed but wish her the best and hope to face her in the future,” said Kedzie. The SI report adds:

Kedzie already has a suggested replacement: Rin Nikai [sic], of Japan. Nikai beat Kedzie’s Jackson/Winklejohn teammate Tara La Rosa on a controversial decision in September. Nikai, however, is not currently under UFC contract.

Julie Kedzie vs. Rin Nakai, eh? Yeah. I guess I’d watch that.


(Really? Because she looks fine to me. Yeah, baby. She lookin’ fiiiiiiine. / Photo via Facebook.com/aleksandraalburussia)

You may remember Aleksandra Albu as the recent UFC signee with the suspicious record and tight body who was supposed to fight Julie Kedzie at UFC Fight Night 33 in December. Unfortunately, the Russian striker might not be gracing us with her presence quite yet. According to an SI.com report (which cites…nobody), Albu has withdrawn from the matchup due an unspecified injury. Cat scratch fever, perhaps.

“I’m disappointed but wish her the best and hope to face her in the future,” said Kedzie. The SI report adds:

Kedzie already has a suggested replacement: Rin Nikai [sic], of Japan. Nikai beat Kedzie’s Jackson/Winklejohn teammate Tara La Rosa on a controversial decision in September. Nikai, however, is not currently under UFC contract.

Julie Kedzie vs. Rin Nakai, eh? Yeah. I guess I’d watch that.

Injury Report: ‘Uncle Creepy’ Off of UFC on FOX 9, ‘Spartan’ Pulls Out of Bellator Heavyweight Tournament Final With Cheick Kongo


(“Serves you right, you bastard.” — The local homeless drug-addict community. / Photo via MMAJunkie)

A potential flyweight slobber-knocker between Ian “Uncle Creepy” McCall and Scott Jorgensen has been taken off of the loaded UFC on FOX 9 card (December 14th, Sacramento). As MMAJunkie reports, McCall has been forced to pull out with an undisclosed injury.

After going 0-2-1 in his first three UFC appearances, McCall won his do-or-die fight against Iliarde Santos at UFC 163, and was looking to make it two in a row against Jorgensen, a former bantamweight contender who was scheduled to make his 125-pound debut. The UFC is currently looking for a replacement opponent for Jorgensen, who was most recently choked out by Urijah Faber at the TUF 17 Finale. Anyway, tough break for Creepy. We’ll update you when we know more.

In other injury news, Bellator 106 has taken another step towards “cursed card” status…


(“Serves you right, you bastard.” — The local homeless drug-addict community. / Photo via MMAJunkie)

A potential flyweight slobber-knocker between Ian “Uncle Creepy” McCall and Scott Jorgensen has been taken off of the loaded UFC on FOX 9 card (December 14th, Sacramento). As MMAJunkie reports, McCall has been forced to pull out with an undisclosed injury.

After going 0-2-1 in his first three UFC appearances, McCall won his do-or-die fight against Iliarde Santos at UFC 163, and was looking to make it two in a row against Jorgensen, a former bantamweight contender who was scheduled to make his 125-pound debut. The UFC is currently looking for a replacement opponent for Jorgensen, who was most recently choked out by Urijah Faber at the TUF 17 Finale. Anyway, tough break for Creepy. We’ll update you when we know more.

In other injury news, Bellator 106 has taken another step towards “cursed card” status…

Following the laughably-predictable Tito Ortiz neck injury that torpedoed Bellator’s first pay-per-view show (which will now be broadcast for free on Spike TV), the promotion’s November 2nd event in Long Beach has also lost the Season 9 Heavyweight Tournament final between Vinicius “Spartan” Kappke de Queiroz Steinberg McMenamin and Cheick Kongo. On Saturday, Kongo tweeted that the fight had been moved to the main event of Bellator 107 the following week, but now it’s been confirmed that Spartan is out of the match altogether with an ACL injury. It’s unclear when the Brazilian heavyweight will be back in action, or who/when Kongo will fight next.

Fun fact: Bellator’s current heavyweight champion is a guy named Alexander Volkov; I just learned that on Wikipedia. Come back, Cole — the game needs you.

Michael Bisping Pulls Out of ‘UFC Fight Night 30? Main Event With Eye Injury, Lyoto Machida Replaces Him Against Mark Munoz


(Michael “Winky” Bisping | Photo via @ArielHelwani)

Michael Bisping has been forced to withdraw from his scheduled October 26th UFC Fight Night 30 main event bout against Mark Munoz because of a detached retina. Bleacher Report‘s Damon Martin has the story.

“Bisping first dealt with the injury earlier this year after his win over Alan Belcher at UFC 159 in April.

The belief was that the eye was healed and ready to go, but another setback happened to Bisping during training, while getting ready for Munoz, and he was forced to visit his doctor again where he was given the diagnosis.

According to Bisping’s management team at Paradigm Sports Management, who spoke to Bleacher Report on Friday evening, the British fighter already had the necessary corrective eye surgery on Thursday and will now begin his rest and rehabilitation.

Bisping is expected to have no contact whatsoever on the eye for the approximately the next three months, and then they hope he can return to full sparring and a fight in four to six months.

The timelines are obviously estimates based on the surgery and typical recovery time, but Bisping could potentially return sooner or later depending on how he heals up.”

Lyoto Machida, who was set to face Tim Kennedy less than two weeks after UFC Fight Night, at Fight for the Troops 3 on November 6th, has been tabbed to replace Bisping against Munoz. Kennedy is now left without an opponent, and has been doing his best on twitter to find a new one.

First, Kennedy, called out former middleweight champion Rich Franklin:


(Michael “Winky” Bisping | Photo via @ArielHelwani)

Michael Bisping has been forced to withdraw from his scheduled October 26th UFC Fight Night 30 main event bout against Mark Munoz because of a detached retina. Bleacher Report‘s Damon Martin has the story.

“Bisping first dealt with the injury earlier this year after his win over Alan Belcher at UFC 159 in April.

The belief was that the eye was healed and ready to go, but another setback happened to Bisping during training, while getting ready for Munoz, and he was forced to visit his doctor again where he was given the diagnosis.

According to Bisping’s management team at Paradigm Sports Management, who spoke to Bleacher Report on Friday evening, the British fighter already had the necessary corrective eye surgery on Thursday and will now begin his rest and rehabilitation.

Bisping is expected to have no contact whatsoever on the eye for the approximately the next three months, and then they hope he can return to full sparring and a fight in four to six months.

The timelines are obviously estimates based on the surgery and typical recovery time, but Bisping could potentially return sooner or later depending on how he heals up.”

Lyoto Machida, who was set to face Tim Kennedy less than two weeks after UFC Fight Night, at Fight for the Troops 3 on November 6th, has been tabbed to replace Bisping against Munoz. Kennedy is now left without an opponent, and has been doing his best on twitter to find a new one.

First, Kennedy, called out former middleweight champion Rich Franklin:

“Mr. @RichFranklin

I’m not sure if you have plans Nov 6th? I just got stood up on for a date, and now need someone else to step in… ;-) ,”Kennedy tweeted.

When we got no response from “Ace,” Kennedy went off on Chris Camozzi.

Hey @ChrisCamozzi I think you have bad hair, and should fight me in defense if your stylist. (My best attempt at picking a fight),” Kennedy spit out on twitter.

Lorenz Larkin, who is currently scheduled to fight Camozzi at UFC Fight Night 31 might not like Kennedy trying to get in on his action but Camozzi seems fine with switching opponents.

@TimKennedyMMA how dare you talk about my hair!!! That’s crossing the line bro! I’m always available,” Camozzi tweeted back at Kennedy.

Nothing official has been announced for Kennedy yet, ‘Taters, but we’ll let you know if his campaign of nasty trash talks snags him a new opponent.

Elias Cepeda

Scratch That: Conor McGregor Suffered a Torn ACL in Last Fight, Won’t Be Fighting Anybody for 10 Months


(So…back to taking public transportation, then? / Photo via Conor McGregor’s Facebook page)

Well, it looks like the Conor McGregor hype train has pulled into the station for extensive repairs. Though the Irish featherweight was originally reported to have suffered a minor ACL sprain during his decision victory over Max Hollaway last weekend,  an MRI has revealed that McGregor actually sustained an ACL tear, an MCL strain, and a posterior horn meniscal tear. (Aye…da dreaded O’Donoghue’s triad.) He will be out of action for approximately 10 months.

So no, he won’t be fighting Diego Brandao — or anybody else — at UFC 168. It’s a shame, because McGregor was on a roll, in terms of trash-talking other fighters on Twitter. A couple of nights ago, he dissed the majority of the UFC’s featherweight contenders, calling them boring (Guida, Lentz), old (Swanson, Siver), undersized (Mendes, Edgar), or unpopular (Lamas, Koch). And then, he got into a twitter-beef with Diego Sanchez, telling The Dream “You’re the fattest, sloppiest, slowest Martial Artist i’ve ever laid eyes on. I’d go up to 170 to whoop your fat ass. EASY.”

McGregor won’t be able to back up any of his words until next summer. Still, he tried to put a brash spin on his knee injury this morning, writing: “I celebrate adversity. Congratulations. Your favourite fighter is safe. For 10 months. #AintNothing I’ll do it on my back. EASY!!!!”

Our advice to Conor? Sell your watches and start shopping at Men’s Wearhouse.


(So…back to taking public transportation, then? / Photo via Conor McGregor’s Facebook page)

Well, it looks like the Conor McGregor hype train has pulled into the station for extensive repairs. Though the Irish featherweight was originally reported to have suffered a minor ACL sprain during his decision victory over Max Hollaway last weekend,  an MRI has revealed that McGregor actually sustained an ACL tear, an MCL strain, and a posterior horn meniscal tear. (Aye…da dreaded O’Donoghue’s triad.) He will be out of action for approximately 10 months.

So no, he won’t be fighting Diego Brandao — or anybody else — at UFC 168. It’s a shame, because McGregor was on a roll, in terms of trash-talking other fighters on Twitter. A couple of nights ago, he dissed the majority of the UFC’s featherweight contenders, calling them boring (Guida, Lentz), old (Swanson, Siver), undersized (Mendes, Edgar), or unpopular (Lamas, Koch). And then, he got into a twitter-beef with Diego Sanchez, telling The Dream “You’re the fattest, sloppiest, slowest Martial Artist i’ve ever laid eyes on. I’d go up to 170 to whoop your fat ass. EASY.”

McGregor won’t be able to back up any of his words until next summer. Still, he tried to put a brash spin on his knee injury this morning, writing: “I celebrate adversity. Congratulations. Your favourite fighter is safe. For 10 months. #AintNothing I’ll do it on my back. EASY!!!!”

Our advice to Conor? Sell your watches and start shopping at Men’s Wearhouse.

Sara McMann Out of UFC Fight Night 27 Due to Injury


(Photo via MMAFighting.com)

Due to an undisclosed injury, 7-0 bantamweight Sara McMann has been forced to withdraw from her upcoming match against former Strikeforce champ Sarah Kaufman, which was slated for UFC Fight Night 27: Condit vs. Kampmann 2, August 28th in Indianapolis. MMAJunkie reported the news yesterday, and McMann’s agent confirmed it, stating that the former Olympic silver medalist “will be back in the cage soon.”

It would have been the second UFC appearance for McMann, who scored a first-round TKO against German striker Sheila Gaff at UFC 159. The UFC is currently looking for a replacement opponent for Kaufman. Our suggestion: Leslie Smith, who lost a somewhat controversial split-decision to Kaufman in a three-round war at Invicta FC 5. Time for a rematch? Come on Joe Silva, we know you’re reading this.

UFC Fight Night 27 (f.k.a. UFC on FOX Sports 1: 2) has previously lost Paulo Thiago and Derrick Lewis to injuries. The current lineup is after the jump…


(Photo via MMAFighting.com)

Due to an undisclosed injury, 7-0 bantamweight Sara McMann has been forced to withdraw from her upcoming match against former Strikeforce champ Sarah Kaufman, which was slated for UFC Fight Night 27: Condit vs. Kampmann 2, August 28th in Indianapolis. MMAJunkie reported the news yesterday, and McMann’s agent confirmed it, stating that the former Olympic silver medalist “will be back in the cage soon.”

It would have been the second UFC appearance for McMann, who scored a first-round TKO against German striker Sheila Gaff at UFC 159. The UFC is currently looking for a replacement opponent for Kaufman. Our suggestion: Leslie Smith, who lost a somewhat controversial split-decision to Kaufman in a three-round war at Invicta FC 5. Time for a rematch? Come on Joe Silva, we know you’re reading this.

UFC Fight Night 27 (f.k.a. UFC on FOX Sports 1: 2) has previously lost Paulo Thiago and Derrick Lewis to injuries. The current lineup is after the jump…

MAIN CARD (FOX Sports 1, 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT)
Carlos Condit vs. Martin Kampmann
Donald Cerrone vs. Rafael dos Anjos
Kelvin Gastelum vs. Brian Melancon
Sarah Kaufman vs. TBA
Court McGee vs. Robert Whittaker
Robert McDaniel vs. Brad Tavares

PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX Sports 2, 6 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. PT)
Takeya Mizugaki vs. Erik Perez
Papy Abedi vs. Dylan Andrews
Justin Edwards vs. Brandon Thatch
Darren Elkins vs. Hatsu Hioki

PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook, 4:30 p.m. ET / 1:30 p.m. PT)
James Head vs. Jason High
Ben Alloway vs. Zak Cummings
Roger Bowling vs. Abel Trujillo