BJ Penn getting injured worked out surprisingly well for UFC Belfast.
UFC Manila was set to host the highly-anticipated return of BJ Penn as the former welterweight and lightweight champion was set to take on number-four ranked featherweight Ricardo Lamas. Unfortunately for ‘the Prodigy’,and the people of the Philippines, he suffered a rib injury in training and was forced to withdraw.
Since he was the only real draw on the card, the UFC decided to scrap it entirely. The promotion promised to compensate every fighter on the card and have them rescheduled for later dates, and one of the better match-ups originally booked for the event will now take place in Belfast.
A flyweight bout between top contenders Kyoji Horiguchi and Ali Bagautinov has been moved to the UFC Belfast card on November 19.
Horiguchi, the number four-ranked 125 lber, enters into this fight off the back of a unanimous decision win over Ireland’s Neil Seery in May. The 25-year-old is riding a two-fight win-streak since losing his title shot against Demetrious Johnson at UFC 186.
Eight-ranked flyweight Bagautinov recently returned to the winning column by beating Geane Herrera over three rounds at UFC Fight Night 89. Prior to that, he was on a two-fight losing streak that included loses to Joseph Benavides and Mighty Mouse.
Dong Hyun Kim vs. Gunnar Nelson
Kyoji Horiguchi vs. Ali Bagautinov
Amanda Cooper vs. Anna Elmose
Ian McCall vs. Neil Seery
James Krause vs. Ross Pearson
Zak Cummings vs. Alexander Yakovlev
Kevin Lee vs. Magomed Mustafaev
Mark Godbeer vs. Justin Ledet
Timothy Johnson vs. Alexander Volkov
Magnus Cedenblad vs. Jack Marsham
Teruto Ishihara vs. Artem Lobov
Marion Reneau vs. Milana Dudieva
Check out the latest episode of The GAA Hour, where we talk players statements, club football’s fixture glut and catch up with Clare’s new hurling manager(s).
