The featured bout on the prelims of UFC on Fox 5 is no more. Just nine days before the December 8th card in Seattle, UFC president Dana White tweeted that Lavar Johnson is out of his fight with Brendan Schaub. Here's what the boss had to say:
Lavar Johnson is out of the FOX prelims with a pulled groin. He was fighting Brendan Shcaub.
30 Nov 12 ReplyRetweetFavorite
It seems unlikely that they could find a replacement for Johnson on such short notice, but who knows. There aren't any other heavyweight fights on the card, so there's no one to bump up. At least heavyweights don't need to cut weight, so they might be able to find someone in shape and ready to scrap. Pat Barry is scheduled to fight just one week later though, and he's a similar fighter to Johnson. Just sayin'.
Schaub (8-3) hasn't competed since Ben Rothwell put him to sleep at UFC 145 in April. He'll be looking to stop a two-fight losing streak if anyone steps up to fight him.
UPDATE - According to Ariel Helwani, Schaub won't fight on the card now:
White initially told MMAFighting.com that he wasn't sure if Schaub would remain on the Dec. 8 card, however, Schaub's manager Lex McMahon later told MMAFighting.com that the heavyweight will not compete next Saturday night due to the late-notice injury.
"Brendan is very disappointed," McMahon said, "but he is very dedicated and will be back to training. We will see how long Lavar is out and will assess Brendan's options. I'm confident the UFC will get Brendan back in the Octagon soon. "
Source Updated: Lavar Johnson out of UFC on Fox 5 bout with injury, Schaub off card as well
