There's no such thing as a 24-hour news cycle in mixed martial arts. MMA Weekly reported last night that Vitor Belfort had to dump out of the Yushin Okami fight at UFC 122. It turns out that it wasn't an injury.
Update: On Facebook, Belfort's trainer Shawn Tompkins indicated that Belfort is healthy. Maybe that means he was removed from the card and will be slotted in against Anderson Silva in February.
Update II: UFC president Dana White just announced that Belfort is injury free and has been booked to fight Silva next.
So there you have it, Belfort got moved out of a risky fight against Okami to ensure a matchup that White has wanted to see for a while.
Nate Marquardt, who is now fighting Okami at UFC 122, also deserves the fight. He's been skipped over several times for his rematch against Silva. He was destroyed by the UFC middleweight champ back at UFC 73. Since then he's been a much more confident, aggressive fighter. His trail to another title shot was derailed by Sonnen back at UFC 109. Marquardt got himself back in the mix with an easy win over Rousimar Palhares at Ultimate Fight Night 22. If he gets the job dome against Okami, then he'll face the winner of Belfort-Silva.
More good news came across the MMA wire last night. The UFC discovered that its main event at UFC 119 this weekend won't turn into a circus. Because of an eye injury suffered late in his camp, Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic was a possible late scratch for his fight against Frank Mir. No worries, Indiana did the right thing and had Cro Cop examined as soon as he arrived in the U.S.
"'Cro Cop' suffered a poke in the eye in the last round of his final sparring session for the bout last week, but after a few days of rest, he is in tip top shape for this pivotal battle of heavyweight contenders," the UFC.com statement read.
On Monday Andy Means, the director of the Indiana Gaming Commission's athletic division, (said Cro Cop) would undergo a pre-fight exam prior to Friday's weigh-ins. But apparently not wanting to risk a late surprise, officials arranged an exam as soon as Filipovic arrived in Indianapolis
Facebook tip via Bloody Elbow
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