Rory MacDonald suffers cut, out of UFC 152 bout with B.J. Penn
B.J. Penn's return to action may be in jeopardy, as the fighter he chose to return against is out of their bout at UFC 152. UFC President Dana White, speaking to reporters after the post-fight press conference for UFC on Fox 4 on Saturday night, revealed that Rory MacDonald has been forced out of their bout after suffering a major cut in training.
Per White, via several reporters on Twitter, revealed that MacDonald suffered a gash to his forehead while training, and he won't be healed in time to take the bout on Sept. 22.
That leaves Penn without an opponent at the moment, and there's no word on a replacement. The bout was to have been his first since losing to Nick Diaz last October, and now his return is in doubt. He had retired after the loss to Diaz, but the bout with MacDonald was one that intrigued him and got him to return to action.
http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish ... 4038.shtmlcheck at 3:25 mark about Rory
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6EXrrxGGbY[/youtube]
In an exclusive interview with BJPENN.COM, BJ Penn expressed his disappointment and shock over the news, but wanted to release the following statement:
“I am sorry to hear about the injury to Rory, this is a fight that got me out of retirement and one that I was looking forward to. I would like to wish Rory a speedy and healthy recovery and request a postponement of our fight to the Rio card.
To Rory, let’s stay with VADA and continue through with the program from now until we fight!”
Report: B.J. Penn Vs. Rory MacDonald Set For UFC On Fox 5
Aside from the naming of Lyoto Machida as the new Light Heavyweight contender, the other big news last Saturday was that Rory MacDonald was forced to pull out of his fight with B.J Penn scheduled for UFC 152. MacDonald suffered a major cut just over his eye that put his training on hold. There has been some speculation over this week over whether the fight would be scrapped altogether and which event would be best for rescheduling.
Tonight on MMA Uncensored, after addressing Jon Fitch's comments about Penn, Nate Quarry had a startling revelation:
Oh my God, talk about a ridiculous thing to say - calling B.J. Penn a "coward". We're talking about B.J., who was the Lightweight champion, who also fought Machida at Light Heavy weight, so he moved up 50 lbs. to fight Machida. Machida, who was undefeated at the time, just knocked out Rich Franklin, just knocked out Stephan Bonnar. B.J. Penn goes to fight him because he's a fighter. That's what he wants to do.
Fitch calling B.J. a "coward" is just Fitch trying to get the attention. Fitch trying to hype himself into another big fight, because the Rory MacDonald fight got postponed. And we have it on good authority, my insider has told me, that that fight has been set for the Fox card in December. So we're gonna get that fight.
If Quarry's source is correct, this fight is a huge gain for the UFC On Fox 5 card. One of the biggest complaints about the last two Fox cards was there definitive lack of star power. Although Penn's star has certainly dimmed during his most recent Welterweight run, he's still one of the most well known stars in the UFC. On top of that, a network appearance will shine a lot of light on Rory MacDonald as a rising prospect.
http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2012/8/10/32 ... 5-mma-newsUFC on FOX 5 gets Henderson-Diaz title fight, Gustafsson-Rua, Penn-MacDonald
USA TODAY Sports and MMAjunkie.com (
www.mmajunkie.com) confirmed with UFC officials that current lightweight champion Benson Henderson (17-2 MMA, 5-0 UFC) will face Nate Diaz (16-7, 11-5) at UFC on FOX 5, which takes place Dec. 8 at a host site to be announced.
A light-heavyweight matchup between former champion Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (21-6, 5-4) and Alexander Gustafsson (14-1, 6-1) serves as the night's co-feature, and a B.J. Penn (16-8-2, 12-7-2) vs. Rory MacDonald (13-1, 4-1) fight also has been rebooked for the card.
A fourth main-card fight is expected to be added to the FOX broadcast in the coming weeks.
Henderson headlined this past weekend's UFC 150 event and scored the first successful defense of his title with a split-decision victory over Frankie Edgar, whom he also narrowly defeated in February to win the title. Despite the close nature of the rematch, UFC President Dana White immediately made it clear that Diaz, who was promised a title shot following a May win over Jim Miller, would get the next crack at the belt.
Rua returns to action following a victory over Brandon Vera earlier this month in UFC on FOX 4's headliner. The Brazilian had an opportunity to earn a title shot against the winner of next month's UFC 151 headliner of champ Jon Jones vs. Dan Henderson, but fellow ex-champ Lyoto Machida leapfrogged him with an impressive stoppage of Ryan Bader.
Rua now faces Gustafsson, who's been inactive since an April win over Thiago Silva in his native Sweden. "The Mauler," one of the light-heavyweight division's top prospects, currently boasts a five-fight win streak. A win over a former champ would serve as a signature victory and propel Gustafsson to serious title consideration.
MacDonald and Penn, meanwhile, initially were slated to co-headline next month's UFC 152 event in Toronto. However, MacDonald suffered a cut in training that required 38 stitches, and the bout was postponed.
Penn, a former two-division champ and future UFC Hall of Famer, hasn't fought since a loss this past October to Nick Diaz at UFC 137. The young MacDonald, meanwhile, recently posted a dominant second-round TKO of Che Mills in UFC 145's co-headliner in April, which marked his third consecutive victory.
UFC on FOX 5 is the fourth and final UFC event to air on network TV this year.
http://mmajunkie.com/news/30172/ufc-on- ... om+Feed%29
