Breaking: Top UFC Fight Cancelled Reported By
OnlyUFC
UFC.com announced late Thursday that Welterweight Champion Matt Serra has pulled out of his scheduled fight against Matt Hughes due to injury.
Serra, who suffered a herniated disc in his lower back during training, was scheduled to defend the belt against Hughes at UFC 79 on December 29.
The grudge match was to mark the final culmination of this season's "The Ultimate Fighter." Serra and Hughes, who have made their dislike crystal clear, have been appearing and will continue to appear as rival coaches for the duration of TUF6.
In addition to determining the next UFC Welterweight fighter, the show was designed as a hype vehicle for the Serra-Hughes grudge match. UFC has not yet determined when the match will ultimately take place.
“This is devastating news because they were so looking forward to fighting each other," said UFC President Dana White. “Unfortunately injuries happen and I look forward to Serra recovering quickly, and to getting him back into the Octagon.”
The injury reportedly occurred when Serra was demonstrating a grappling move after wrestling and jiu-jitsu training. "Serra went to the hospital and underwent an MRI, which revealed the herniated discs in his lower back," read the UFC.com report.
Serra added, "I’ve never had a back injury before; I could hardly get off of the MRI table. There is no way I can train through this, and I’m devastated, especially because this was such an important fight. I was looking forward to fighting Matt Hughes. All my training was going phenomenally until Monday – All I can do now is to get better and to fight again as soon as possible.”
Originally promoted as the secondary main-event, the fight between Chuck Liddell and Wanderlei Silva will presumably become the primary focus of UFC 79. The show also features the anticipated debut of former PRIDE fighter Sokoudjou.
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