Update: Joe Stevenson Suspension Extended
Posted by Kris Karkoski on Aug 28, 2007 at 3:29 pm ET9 Comments
The Nevada State Athletic Commission has issued an update on Joe Stevenson. Stevenson suffered a broken nose in his unanimous decision win over Kurt Pellegrino at UFC 74. He must have his broken nose cleared by an ENT (ear, nose, and throat) doctor or he cannot compete until February 22nd of 2008. His prior no contact and minimum suspension dates have remained unchanged. The earliest he will now be able to return is September 25th with no contact until September 16th.
You can find the update (as well as all of the other suspension information) here.
Tags: Joe Stevenson
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Does this mean his potential title shot may be put on hold? A fight with him and B.J. is pretty interesting, but not as much as Penn vs. Sherk.
Red: I think it does. Penn is ready to fight again. Sherk is probably going to be suspended for a year. So I think Huerta is in line since he's undefeated in the UFC but you know they won't give Huerta a tough fight.
Thanks Steve24 for the insight. Is the UFC ready to put Huerta in the toughest fight of his career against Penn? It would be an awesome fight. I think Florian gets past Din Thomas; he might get slotted into the title fight against Penn, if Sherk is stripped of the belt and if Stevenson is still injured. Wouldn't you agree?
How about Florian. I know he is a strange unit, but I think he is a much better fighter since he faced Sherk (and went the distance, cutting Sherk badly) And I don't think BJ will stay in the lightweight division, even for the belt. He wants Hughes badly.
Penn has stated that he wants to be Lightweight Champion. Penn probably has to wait a while until around the end of 2008 to even have a fight with Hughes.
It's unlikely to put Huerta in there considering he hasn't had a real challenge yet but I thought Crane did very well in his debut to earn a return fight in the UFC. I think Florian or Thomas could get the fight but Stevenson could be ready. Keep in mind this suspension is extremely long and he will really only be out (suspended) for 6 weeks but he will start doing training again soon I'm sure and could be ready for the UFC 78 fight if it's offered to him.
It is so cool to see a division that is so deep that there are so many lightweight fighters that can get a title shot and fans won't really have a problem with it. I wouldn't mind seeing Florian, Thomas, Huerta or Tavaras fighting for the belt against Penn. It is unfortunate, but I think Sherk is going to be stripped of the belt. Huerta and Tavaras don't seem ready, but both are so young and impressive; they will get a shot very soon.
You know who I think could be a contender, Spencer "the King" Fisher. His hand game is exquisit. What do you guys think.
I like Fisher but he needs to win a few more bouts before I will consider him a legitimate contender.