Sotiropoulos out at UFC 144, Gomi now meets Mitsuoka on prelims
An injury suffered in training has forced lightweight George Sotiropoulos (14-4 MMA, 7-2 UFC) to withdraw from UFC 144, officials announced today.
In his place steps newcomer Eiji Mitsuoka (18-7-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC), who meets Takanori Gomi (32-8 MMA, 1-3 UFC) on the event's preliminary card.
UFC 144 takes place Feb. 25 at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. The event's main card, which features a lightweight title headliner between champ Frankie Edgar and Ben Henderson, airs live on pay-per-view. Broadcast plans for the preliminary card have yet to be announced.
After a modestly successful six-fight stint in the now-defunct Sengoku, Mitsuoka returned to active competition this past year, earning back-to-back victories in Japanese promotions DEEP and DREAM.
The 36-year-old Mitsuoka holds early career victories over UFC vets Gerald Strebendt, Gleison Tibau and Anthony Macias, as well as former DREAM champ Joachim Hansen.
Gomi, 33, is likely facing a pink slip should he lose to the newcomer. In his most recent appearance, the former PRIDE lightweight champ was picked apart by the resurgent Nate Diaz before being submitted late in the first round at UFC 135. That setback was preceded by a second-round submission loss to Clay Guida at UFC 125, which brought him to 1-3 since signing with the UFC in 2010.
Before withdrawing from UFC 144, Sotiropoulos was in imminent danger of being cut, as well. Back-to-back losses snapped a seven-fight win streak that put him on the title hunt.
The latest UFC 144 card includes:
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view)
•Champ Frankie Edgar vs. Ben Henderson (for lightweight title)
•Ryan Bader vs. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson
•Cheick Kongo vs. Mark Hunt
•Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Jake Shields
•Joe Lauzon vs. Anthony Pettis
PRELIMINARY CARD
•Tim Boetsch vs. Yushin Okami
•Takanori Gomi vs. Eiji Mitsuoka
•Hatsu Hioki and Bart Palaszewski
•Vaughan Lee vs. Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto
•Steve Cantwell vs. Riki Fukuda
•Chris Cariaso vs. Takeya Mizugaki
An injury suffered in training has forced lightweight George Sotiropoulos (14-4 MMA, 7-2 UFC) to withdraw from UFC 144, officials announced today.
In his place steps newcomer Eiji Mitsuoka (18-7-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC), who meets Takanori Gomi (32-8 MMA, 1-3 UFC) on the event's preliminary card.
UFC 144 takes place Feb. 25 at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. The event's main card, which features a lightweight title headliner between champ Frankie Edgar and Ben Henderson, airs live on pay-per-view. Broadcast plans for the preliminary card have yet to be announced.
After a modestly successful six-fight stint in the now-defunct Sengoku, Mitsuoka returned to active competition this past year, earning back-to-back victories in Japanese promotions DEEP and DREAM.
The 36-year-old Mitsuoka holds early career victories over UFC vets Gerald Strebendt, Gleison Tibau and Anthony Macias, as well as former DREAM champ Joachim Hansen.
Gomi, 33, is likely facing a pink slip should he lose to the newcomer. In his most recent appearance, the former PRIDE lightweight champ was picked apart by the resurgent Nate Diaz before being submitted late in the first round at UFC 135. That setback was preceded by a second-round submission loss to Clay Guida at UFC 125, which brought him to 1-3 since signing with the UFC in 2010.
Before withdrawing from UFC 144, Sotiropoulos was in imminent danger of being cut, as well. Back-to-back losses snapped a seven-fight win streak that put him on the title hunt.
The latest UFC 144 card includes:
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view)
•Champ Frankie Edgar vs. Ben Henderson (for lightweight title)
•Ryan Bader vs. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson
•Cheick Kongo vs. Mark Hunt
•Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Jake Shields
•Joe Lauzon vs. Anthony Pettis
PRELIMINARY CARD
•Tim Boetsch vs. Yushin Okami
•Takanori Gomi vs. Eiji Mitsuoka
•Hatsu Hioki and Bart Palaszewski
•Vaughan Lee vs. Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto
•Steve Cantwell vs. Riki Fukuda
•Chris Cariaso vs. Takeya Mizugaki