Ultimate Fighting Championships officials on Tuesday pulled a light heavyweight bout between Steve Cantwell and Vladimir Matyushenko from this weekend's UFC 108 fight card.
A source close to the event confirmed with MMAjunkie.com the likely injury to Cantwell, which was first reported by MMAWeekly.com.
According to the report, a replacement for the un-aired preliminary-card fight could be found in time for the Jan. 2 event.
The show takes place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The fight card has been ravaged by injuries; more than a dozen fighters have been forced off the card due to injuries over the past couple months.
MMAjunkie.com first reported the Cantwell vs. Matyushenko matchup earlier this month. Matyushenko (23-4 MMA, 4-2 UFC), a former top UFC light heavyweight contender, returned to the UFC in September after a six-year absence from the organization and topped Igor Pokrajac via unanimous decision at UFC 103 to pick up his 10th win in his past 11 fights. Cantwell (8-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC), a former WEC light-heavyweight champion, debuted with the UFC in late 2008 and scored a submission victory over UFC newcomer Razak Al-Hassan, but since then, he's dropped unanimous decisions to both Luiz Cane and Brian Stann.
The latest UFC 108 card now includes:
MAIN CARD
* Rashad Evans vs. Thiago Silva
* Paul Daley vs. Dustin Hazelett
* Joe Lauzon vs. Sam Stout
* Duane Ludwig vs. Jim Miller
* Junior Dos Santos vs. Gilbert Yvel
PRELIMINARY CARD (Spike TV)
* Martin Kampmann vs. Jacob Volkmann
* Dan Lauzon vs. Cole Miller
PRELIMINARY CARD (Un-aired)
* Ryan Jensen vs. Mark Munoz
* Jake Ellenberger vs. Mike Pyle
* Rafaello Oliveira vs. John Gunderson
Source:
http://mmajunkie.com/news/17361/steve-c ... eedfetcher