Det blev under natten annonserat att UFC 180 fått en ny huvudmatch.
UFC meddelade via Twitter att den nuvarande tungviktsmästaren Cain Velasquez hade skadat sitt högra knä under ett träningspass och tvingats dra sig ur den kommande titelmatchen mot Fabricio Werdum. Detta innebär att fjärderankade Mark Hunt istället kommer att ersätta Velasquez för att utmana om interimtiteln.
“I’m so unbelievably disappointed that this happened,” säger Velasquez. “To say I was looking forward to fighting in Mexico for the first time is an understatement. I wanted to fight on that card so bad. Looks like it wasn’t meant to be and it’s not going to happen. I’m going to get my [right] knee fixed and get back to training as soon as I can. I’m sorry to the fans in Mexico who were expecting this fight, and I hope to be able to come down and still be a part of this historic event.”
“I’m ready for whatever comes. I have been training in Mexico for nearly two months and accept the challenge that is presented to me. I’ll continue to prepare and will arrive ready to fight on behalf of all my Latin American fans,” säger Werdum.
Mark Hunt hade i början av förra året en fyra matcher lång vinstsvit i UFC med vinster mot bland annat Cheick Kongo och Stefan Struve. Detta bröts sedan av Junior dos Santos som var den första att knocka Hunt i MMA sedan Melvin Manhoef i december 2008. Hunt gick efter det en oavgjord match mot Antonio Silva och besegrade för en månad sedan Roy Nelson via knockout.
“I feel blessed to have this opportunity to fight for another world title,” säger Hunt. ”This is something that doesn’t happen often to people. First K1 and now UFC – how can I say no, even though it’s on short notice? I’m dropping everything and flying to Mexico tomorrow so I can best prepare myself for this fight. I have to get into shape and acclimatize to that environment, which is really important. There’s nothing to lose when you’re competing against the best at the top level,”.
UFC 180 går av stapeln den 15 november i Arena Ciudad de México i Mexiko City, Mexiko
Matchkort
- Interimitelmatch i tungvikt: #1 Fabricio Werdum vs. Mark Hunt #4
- Weltervikt: #8 Jake Ellenberger vs. Kelvin Gastelum #11
- Lättvikt: Joe Lauzon vs. Diego Sanchez
- Fjädervikt: #4 Ricardo Lamas vs. Dennis Bermudez #8
- Mellanvikt: Edgar Garcia vs. Hector Urbina
- Kvinnlig bantamvikt: #6 Jessica Eye vs. Leslie Smith #13
- Weltervikt: Augusto Montano vs. Chris Heatherly
- Fjäderviktsfinal i “TUF: Latin America”
- Bantamviktsfinal i ”TUF: Latin America”
