Lightweight ace Michael Chiesa takes the back of Al Iaquinta at “The Ultimate Fighter 15 Finale”. Photo courtesy of Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images.
The ghost of injury rears its head yet again in the world’s premier MMA organization. Michael Chiesa, winner of the 15th season of the The Ultimate Fighter reality show, has been pulled from the card for UFC on Fox 5, which takes place Saturday, Dec. 8, in Seattle.
Chiesa was preparing to face Marcus LeVesseur in the last bout on the undercard, but, according to information released by the UFC, had to be dropped due to sickness.
Chiesa holds an undefeated record, with six of his eight wins coming via submission. The last time the American lightweight tapped out an opponent was in the reality show final, when he subdued Al Iaquinta with a rear-naked choke.
Another fighter who is out of the Seattle event is Lavar Johnson, who was scheduled to face Brendan Schaub on the main card. Johnson suffered a training injury and asked forgiveness of his opponent over Twitter.
“I’d been waiting for this fight. I hope we can fight in the future. Once again, sorry, friend,” posted a regretful Lavar.
As it stands, the card for the Dec. 8 event features B.J. Penn making his octagon return against Rory MacDonald, Mauricio “Shogun” against Alexander Gustafsson, and Ben Henderson defending his lightweight strap against Nate Diaz.
UFC on Fox 5
KeyArena, Seattle, Washington
December 8, 2012
Main Card
- Benson Henderson vs Nathan Diaz
- Mauricio Shogun vs Alexander Gustafsson
- B.J. Penn vs Rory MacDonald
- Mike Swick vs Matt Brown
Prelims on FX
- Raphael Assunção vs Mike Easton
- Dennis Siver vs Nam Phan
- Ramsey Nijem vs Joe Proctor
- Yves Edwards vs Jeremy Stephens
Prelims on Facebook
- Daron Cruickshank vs Henry Martinez
- Scott Jorgensen vs John Albert
- Tim Means vs Abel Trujillo
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