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File this one under the “Too good to be true” column. On Tuesday, it was announced Tony Ferguson (pictured) suffered an injury that will force him out of his highly anticipated lightweight shootout against Khabib Nurmagomedov.
With only 11 days remaining until showtime, the UFC doesn’t have enough time to secure a suitable replacement to headline the show opposite Nurmagomedov so they have pulled the undefeated Russian from the lineup. The light heavyweight tango between former champion Rashad Evans and Glover Teixeira has been bumped to the main event.
The contest between veterans Dan Henderson and Lyoto Machida will now get second-to-top billing.
FoxSports.com first reported the changes. UFC VP of RP Dave Sholler confirmed the news by retweeting the article.
“Usually I can Power thru small Bumps & Bruises. Doc Said I have Fluid/Blood in my Lung #UFCTampa I Will Heal Up. I Will be Back,” Ferguson tweeted after news broke of his withdrawal.
No word on how long Ferguson will be sidelined. It is also unknown if the UFC will shelve Nurmagomedov until Ferguson returns or assign him a new opponent at a later date.
The April 16 event takes place inside Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. FOX broadcasts the main card live starting at 8PM ET/5PM PT.
Here is the card’s revised lineup:
Preliminary Card:
(UFC Fight Pass 4PM ET/1PM PT)
Omari Akhmedov vs. Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos
Drew Dober vs. Islam Makhachev
Cezar Ferreira vs. Caio Magalhaes
Randy Brown vs. Michael Graves
Bethe Correia vs. Raquel Pennington
(Fox Sports 1 6PM ET/3PM PT)
Court McGee vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio
John Dodson vs. Manny Gamburyan
Hacran Dias vs. Cub Swanson
Michael Chiesa vs. Beneil Dariush
Main Card:
(FOX 8PM ET/5PM PT)
Rose Namajunas vs. Tecia Torres
Dan Henderson vs. Lyoto Machida
Rashad Evans vs. Gloer Teixeira
Tony Ferguson vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov
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