Ryan Healy replaces Gabe Ruediger, faces Paul Kelly at Super Fight League 2
While India's Super Fight League is not legally required to follow the orders of the California State Athletic Commission, promotion officials have decided to do exactly that.
MMAjunkie.com (
www.mmajunkie.com) has learned that SFL officials will respect the CSAC-ordered medical suspension of Gabe Ruediger (17-8).
Ruediger therefore has been pulled from a planned SFL 2 matchup with UFC vet Paul Kelly (12-4), and Ryan Healy (19-10) will instead take the matchup.
Super Fight League 2 takes place April 7 in Chandigarh, India.
Scott Caitlin recently knocked out Ruediger at "BAMMA USA: Badbeat 5" in Commerce, Calif., and the CSAC placed him under medical suspension. However, as MMAjunkie.com previously reported, the CSAC has no jurisdiction over events held outside the U.S.
According to sources close to the fighter, Ruediger (who has been tied to a potential retirement) may have been willing to bypass the suspension. However, it appears SFL officials are not comfortable with that decision.
Ruediger would not have been the first to bypass a CSAC suspension. In 2009, current UFC heavyweight Antonio Silva fought in the now-defunct Japanese promotion World Victory Road/Sengoku while under a yearlong suspension issued by the CSAC when he failed a post-fight drug test in July 2008. (Silva, who maintained his innocence, was unsuccessful in appealing the suspension.)
A veteran of "The Ultimate Fighter 5," Ruediger gained notoriety when he was cut from the show for failing to make weight for his opening-round fight against Corey Hill. He bounced back after the show and went 7-2 in regional competition. But a return to the UFC in late 2010 was short-lived when he suffered back-to-back losses at UFC 118 (Joe Lauzon) and UFC 126 (Paul Taylor).
Meanwhile, Healy returns to action after suffering a decision loss to John Alessio at this past week's Score Fighting Series 2 event. The win snapped a two-fight win streak for Healy, who is now just 2-3 in his past five fights but can also boast a mark of seven wins in his past 10 outings.
"Diamond" opened his career at 9-0 and is currently enjoying a career resurgence after fighting through a 3-7-1 stretch.
