Big UFC Fight Is Off, Latest UFC Primetime Video, Injured Champion Cleared To Return
- Check out the latest episode of UFC Primetime: St-Pierre vs. Hendricks above. The two welterweights are on target to dispute St-Pierre's title at UFC 167 on November 16.
- Shortly after the light heavyweight fight between Alexander Gustafsson and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira was announced, Little Nog pulled out of the fight with an injury. MMAFighting has reported that the same persistent back injury that forced Nogueira out of bouts with Rich Franklin and Mauricio Rua in the past has returned to prevent his fight with Gustafsson.
The two were expected to face off at a UFC event on March 8 in London. Nogueira last appeared in action in February when he earned a unanimous decision victory over Rashad Evans. No word yet on what comes next for Gustafsson.
- On UFC Tonight this week, Ariel Helwani provided an update from Dominick Cruz, who will be returning from a long injury layoff to defend his bantamweight title against interim champ Renan Barao this February.
According to Helwani, Cruz was cleared to begin training by his doctor three weeks ago and will start his training camp for UFC 169 in two weeks. Cruz revealed that he gets more nervous for training camps than for the actual fights themselves. He also stated that he feels more than his belt is on the line, that he'll be fighting for his legacy and to validate everything he's accomplished to this point.
Cruz hasn't fought since October of 2011, where he defeated Demetrious Johnson by unanimous decision. He was scheduled to fight Urijah Faber but injured his ACL and had to withdraw. His recovery was delayed when his body rejected the replacement cadaver ligament and he had to undergo a second surgery.