source: www.mmajunkie.com
Next month's UFC Fight Night 22 event has lost its headlining fight.
Alan Belcher (16-6 MMA, 7-4 UFC), a rising middleweight contender who campaigned for a fight with Demian Maia (12-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC), had to pull of his the Sept. 15 matchup with the Brazilian fighter due to a detached retina in his right eye.
Belcher today posted the news via Twitter.
UFC Fight Night 22, which precedes the debut episode of "The Ultimate Fighter 12, takes place at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas, and airs on Spike TV.
A source close to the event told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) a search is underway for a replacement fighter.
According to Belcher, he began losing vision in his right eye, consulted doctors and recently underwent surgery in Alabama. He's now prohibited from contact sparring for six weeks, though he said he hopes to attend UFC Fight Night 22.
"Sorry to the UFC and Demian Maia," Belcher wrote. "I know he has been training specifically for me. Sorry to my fans, as well."
Belcher took his latest step toward title contention with a second-round submission victory over former title challenger Patrick Cote at UFC 113 in May. The Muay Thai fighter and Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt is now 4-1 over his past five fights, and the lone loss came via close split-decision to Yoshihiro Akiyama. Additionally, as a testament to his exciting fighting style, Belcher has won four consecutive fight-night bonuses (two for "Fight of the Night" and two for "Submission of the Night").
Following the Cote victory, he joined MMAjunkie.com Radio and campaigned for a main-event or co-main-event fight against someone of Maia's stature. The UFC booked the fight just days later.
Maia, meanwhile, fights for the first time since a failed title bid against champion Anderson Silva. Maia suffered a decision loss in the headliner of April's UFC 112 event and now has lost two of his past three fights, which included a quick first-round knockout to Nate Marquardt this past August. Despite the recent setbacks, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt has racked up victories over notables such as Dan Miller, Chael Sonnen and Nate Quarry in the past couple years.
The UFC Fight Night 22 card now includes:
MAIN CARD
Next month's UFC Fight Night 22 event has lost its headlining fight.
Alan Belcher (16-6 MMA, 7-4 UFC), a rising middleweight contender who campaigned for a fight with Demian Maia (12-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC), had to pull of his the Sept. 15 matchup with the Brazilian fighter due to a detached retina in his right eye.
Belcher today posted the news via Twitter.
UFC Fight Night 22, which precedes the debut episode of "The Ultimate Fighter 12, takes place at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas, and airs on Spike TV.
A source close to the event told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) a search is underway for a replacement fighter.
According to Belcher, he began losing vision in his right eye, consulted doctors and recently underwent surgery in Alabama. He's now prohibited from contact sparring for six weeks, though he said he hopes to attend UFC Fight Night 22.
"Sorry to the UFC and Demian Maia," Belcher wrote. "I know he has been training specifically for me. Sorry to my fans, as well."
Belcher took his latest step toward title contention with a second-round submission victory over former title challenger Patrick Cote at UFC 113 in May. The Muay Thai fighter and Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt is now 4-1 over his past five fights, and the lone loss came via close split-decision to Yoshihiro Akiyama. Additionally, as a testament to his exciting fighting style, Belcher has won four consecutive fight-night bonuses (two for "Fight of the Night" and two for "Submission of the Night").
Following the Cote victory, he joined MMAjunkie.com Radio and campaigned for a main-event or co-main-event fight against someone of Maia's stature. The UFC booked the fight just days later.
Maia, meanwhile, fights for the first time since a failed title bid against champion Anderson Silva. Maia suffered a decision loss in the headliner of April's UFC 112 event and now has lost two of his past three fights, which included a quick first-round knockout to Nate Marquardt this past August. Despite the recent setbacks, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt has racked up victories over notables such as Dan Miller, Chael Sonnen and Nate Quarry in the past couple years.
The UFC Fight Night 22 card now includes:
MAIN CARD
- Demian Maia vs. TBA
- Mac Danzig vs. Matt Wiman
- Jim Miller vs. Gleison Tibau
- Cole Miller vs. Ross Pearson
- Efrain Escudero vs. John Gunderson
- Nick Catone vs. Tomsz Drwal
- Rich Attonito vs. Rafael Natal
- Jared Hamman vs. Kyle Kingsbury
- David Mitchell vs. Anthony Waldburger