Injuries force Aldo, ‘Rampage’ out of UFC 153
Two high-profile fighters withdrew Tuesday from bouts at UFC 153, major losses for the Ultimate Fighting Championship event scheduled for Oct. 13 in Rio de Janeiro.
Featherweight champion Jose Aldo was forced to pull out of his main event title defense against Frankie Edgar with a foot injury, and former light heavyweight champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson had to withdraw from a scheduled bout against rising star Glover Teixeira because of an undisclosed injury.
"Sorry guys, i really want to fight but is hurting a lot my injuries. Im very sad right now!" Aldo posted on Twitter.
UFC president Dana White also took to the social media site to sum up the feelings around the company's Sahara Avenue offices.
"Main and co-main in the same day!! Another amazing day at the UFC. We have some work to do," he tweeted.
UFC officials are scrambling to reconstruct the top of the card.
A replacement to fight Teixeira is expected to be named soon. The situation is not as clear in Edgar's case. The former lightweight champion took the fight as a replacement for Erik Koch, choosing to drop to 145 pounds for a chance at the belt.
With the opportunity to fight for a title no longer on the table, it is unclear what will be done with Edgar at this time.
Chad Mendes, who suffered the only loss of his career in a title bout against Aldo in Rio in January, volunteered to fight Edgar in the main event as long as an interim title is created and put up for grabs.
Announcements on alternative plans are expected soon.
Also on Tuesday, veteran Vladimir Mat-
yushenko was forced to pull out of his Sept. 22 bout against Matt Hamill at UFC 152 because of a torn Achilles tendon. Hamill will now face Roger Hollett, who was Hamill's original opponent before contractual obligations forced a switch to Matyushenko.
Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509.
