“We received a call from the UFC this morning that Wander Braga once again pulled out of his fight with Kurt Pellegrino.

The first time Braga pulled out, Kurt and the team gave him the benefit of the doubt. Doing it again……we have our doubts he ever was serious about fighting Kurt. Its too bad, because the UFC and its organization put alot of work into developing these cards. The fighters also prepare for a specific opponent in mind.

The UFC is doing their best to get a backup at this point. Whoever it is, Pellegrino will put on one hell of a show.”

They also have a response from someone who spoke with Wander:

“I just got off the phone with Wander. Obviously, he’s pissed at the bullshit armory is spewing.

The fact is that Wander had an interview scheduled with immigration for March. Yesterday his manager was informed by INS that the interview was postponed to April. He can’t fight until he is legal to fight. Wander has taken every possible step with immigration in order for everything to be approved in time for the fight, but he doesnt have control over their actions. He wants this fight more than anyone, and he signed with the UFC because he is ready to fight anyone they put in front of him.

He said he would fight Pellegrino any time, and if he had the $10,000 he would gladly put it up.”

Braga is an undefeated mixed martial artist and a lot of people were looking forward to his debut. It appears for now the UFC will seek a replacement but with just 2 weeks before this event that will be difficult. I would expect to see Braga appear at one of the summer UFC events perhaps along with Pellegrino if a replacement isn’t found.

Here’s the card as it stands now:

Main Card:
Joe Stevenson vs. Melvin Guillard
Kenny Florian vs. Dokonjonosuke Mishima
Antoni Hardonk vs. Justin McCully

Preliminary:
Drew Fickett vs. Keita Nakamura
TBD vs. Kurt Pellegrino
Kuniyoshi Hironaka vs. Forrest Petz
Wilson Gouveia vs. Seth Petruzelli
Naoyuki Kotani vs. Thiago Tavares
Roan Carneiro vs. Rich Clementi

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Petz began his MMA career in January 2002 and made his UFC debut at Fight Night 6 in August. Winning his debut fight against Sam Morgan via unanimous decision Petz next faced Marcus Davis at Ortiz vs. Shamrock 3. Petz lost late in the first round of his second UFC bout via submission.

Petz’s opponent talked about the change with Sherdog.com:

“Hironaka elated some excitement in the switch from the very well-rounded Joslin to the striking-oriented Petz, saying that he was excited to have an opponent who would definitely rather strike with him, and that he hoped to show off his own striking abilities in the cage.”

From the sounds of things and these fighters’ history it looks like both with be aiming for a knockout when they step into the octagon.

Here is the now completed fight card barring any further injuries:

Main Card:
Joe Stevenson vs. Melvin Guillard
Kenny Florian vs. Dokonjonosuke Mishima
Antoni Hardonk vs. Justin McCully

Preliminary:
Drew Fickett vs. Keita Nakamura
Wander Braga vs. Kurt Pellegrino
Kuniyoshi Hironaka vs. Forrest Petz
Wilson Gouveia vs. Seth Petruzelli
Naoyuki Kotani vs. Thiago Tavares
Roan Carneiro vs. Rich Clementi

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The substitution pits Carneiro against a more experiened opponent but one that would likely give Carneiro a tougher fight and more exposure. Carneiro talked about the exposure in the article:

“The guy is a more recognized name. I’m gonna go after him with all I’ve got, since I want to make an impression in my first fight in the octagon.”

Despite the change in opponents the Brazilian fighter hasn’t changed him training, at least not drastically:

“The Hawaiian [Torres] is good on the ground, Clementi is more of a standup guy. I will trade standing a little, of course, but I will not break from my Jiu-Jitsu. I am going to watch the American’s fights over the coming days, but I know he is moving up in weight, and he has fought well-known competition, among them Caol Uno, Marcus Aurélio… I am training hard…”

Clementi lost to Caol Unonearly one year ago before coming to the UFC. In the octagon “No Love” posted a loss to Din Thomas at the Ultimate Fighter 4 Finale before winning against Ross Pointon at UFC Fight Night 8 in January.

Carneiro lost in his last fight in Noveber to Fabio Negao via unanimous decision.

Although the match might provide a greater challenge for Carneiro a win could instantly make many more fans aware of him. Both fighters are rather inexperienced as UFC fighters with just a ocmbined 3 matches so both have lots to prove in this preliminary fight.

Here’s the current card for the April 5th event:

Main Card Fights:
Joe Stevenson vs. Melvin Guillard
Kenny Florian vs. Dokonjonosuke Mishima
Antoni Hardonk vs. Justin McCully

Preliminary Bouts:
Drew Fickett vs. Keita Nakamura
Wander Braga vs. Kurt Pellegrino
Kuniyoshi Hironaka vs. TBD
Naoyuki Kotani vs. Thiago Tavares
Wilson Gouveia vs. Seth Petruzelli
Roan Carneiro vs. Rich Clementi

Technorati Tags: ufc, mma, fight+night+9

Mir evidently suffered the shoulder injury in training and it wasn’t healing properly for him to be able to fight. MMAWeekly spoke to his Business Manager, Dean Albrecht, who said, “We’re not sure if it’s the rotator cuff or a labrum injury.” It’s not even readily apparent when he suffered the injury. “He is not sure if it was from falling on the outstretched limb or just constant strain.”

Albrecht said that they “should be receiving the results of an MRI and other related tests any day,” but that the shoulder just wasn’t strong enough for Mir to go into this fight. “With shoulder injuries, you get pain, instability, locking, decreased range of motion and loss of strength. Frank has it all with the most prevalent being loss of strength, which inhibited his submissions and, as you know, that is his strength. So it was decided to concentrate on being in top condition for his next fight.”

It appears Mir will be getting another shot at fighting in the UFC and a chance to comeback from a motorcycle accident. Jeff Joslin was also removed from the card for then unknown reasons but he too has been injured.

From the Fight Network:

An undisclosed injury has forced Canadian welterweight Jeff Joslin to pull out of his scheduled bout with Kuniyoshi Hironaka (10-3) at the upcoming Spike TV-presented UFC Fight Night on April 5 at The Pearl in The Palms Casino & Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Joslin lost to up and comer Josh Koscheck at UFC Fight Night 7 in December via unanimous decision.

Here’s the current card for the April 5th event:

Main Card Fights:
Joe Stevenson vs. Melvin Guillard
Kenny Florian vs. Dokonjonosuke Mishima
Antoni Hardonk vs. Justin McCully

Preliminary Bouts:
Drew Fickett vs. Keita Nakamura
Wander Braga vs. Kurt Pellegrino
Kuniyoshi Hironaka vs. TBD
Naoyuki Kotani vs. Thiago Tavares
Wilson Gouveia vs. Seth Petruzelli
Roan Carneiro vs. TBD

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Frank Mir (9-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC), the former UFC Heavyweight Champion, has been scratched from the UFC Fight Night 9 card where he was to face Antoni Hardonk (5-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC). Mir has an undisclosed injury and was forced to withdraw from the bout, which had been one of 3 fights on the main card for the April 5th event. Sherdog is reporting that UFC newcomer Justin McCully (7-3-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will be taking Mir’s place.

Jeff Joslin and Anthony Torres have also been removed from the card. Joslin (5-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC) was to face Kuniyoshi Hironaka in a preliminary bout. Anthony Torres ( 5-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) was also fight in a preliminaryfight against Roan Carneiro.

With the event under a month away UFC is more than likely scrambling to fill the fights in, although replacements may be in place that just haven’t been publicly announced yet. The UFC Fight Night 9 card looks somewhat empty right now considering how close the event is but I will be keeping an eye on the card for possible replacements.

Here is the complete Fight Night 9 card:

Main Card Fights:
Joe Stevenson vs. Melvin Guillard
Kenny Florian vs. Dokonjonosuke Mishima
Antoni Hardonk vs. Justin McCully

Preliminary Bouts:
Drew Fickett vs. Keita Nakamura
Wander Braga vs. Kurt Pellegrino
Kuniyoshi Hironaka vs. TBD
Naoyuki Kotani vs. Thiago Tavares
Wilson Gouveia vs. Seth Petruzelli
Roan Carneiro vs. TBD

(via UFCJunkie.com)

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Petruzelli competed on the Ultimate Fighter reality series second season. Though standing just 6 feet tall, Petruzelli competed as a heavyweight during his time on the show. He defeated Dan Christison via unanimous decision but lost a split decision to Brad Imes.

He officially debuted in the UFC octagon in October at Ortiz vs. Shamrock 3: The Final Chapter where he lost a unanimous decision to Matt Hamill. Petruzelli next fought a non-UFC fight at Ultimate Warrior Challenge where he posted a KO win in February.

Wilson Gouveia lost to Keith Jardine at the Ultimate Fighter 3 finale but returned to the octagon to beat Wes Combs via submission at UFC 62. The fight is an undercard fight (only 3-4 fights are shown during Ultimate Fight Nights) of an event that includes fights between Joe Stevenson and Melvin Guillard as well as Antoni Hardonk against Frank Mir.

The full rumored card for UFC Fight Night 9 on April 5:

Main Card Fights:
Joe Stevenson vs. Melvin Guillard
Kenny Florian vs. Dokonjonosuke Mishima
Antoni Hardonk vs. Frank Mir

Preliminary Bouts:
Drew Fickett vs. Keita Nakamura
Wander Braga vs. Kurt Pellegrino
Kuniyoshi Hironaka vs. Jeff Joslin
Naoyuki Kotani vs. Thiago Tavares
Wilson Gouveia vs. Seth Petruzelli
Roan Carneiro vs. Anthony Torres

Technorati Tags: ufc, mma, fight+night+9