A planned rematch between Michele “Diablita” Gutierrez and Felice “Lil’ Bulldog” Herrig will no longer take place at Bellator Fighting Championships 84 on December 14th in Hammond, Indiana. Gutierrez withdrew from the bout this past weekend and Herrig will instead face “Little” Patricia Vidonic.
MMARising.com confirmed the fight change with multiple sources today following announcements from both fighters on Sunday. The revised bout is also a rematch, as Herrig earned a dominant Unanimous Decision victory over Vidonic at XFC 17 in April. She has won four of her past five fights.
The cancellation of the Herrig-Gutierrez grudge rematch was not without some controversy and a war of words erupted on the weekend after Gutierrez announced that she would be withdrawing from the fight. She cited a broken hand as the reason for her withdrawal, but Herrig was quick to question the validity of the injury. Screenshots of a private conversation involving Gutierrez subsequently surfaced, wherein Gutierrez stated that she would be unable to make 115 pounds in time to face Herrig and that a broken hand would be cited as the official reason. Regardless, Gutierrez will no longer compete on the card.
Herrig (7-4-0) has put together a solid run at 115 pounds since making the drop down to the strawweight division in 2011. Her lone loss in close to two years came this past December against Invicta FC title challenger Carla “Cookie Monster” Esparza at XFC 15. She has won both of her fights this year. In the first fight with Vidonic, Herrig surprised some by dominating the action on the ground where Vidonic normally excels. She most recently defeated Simona Soukupova at XFC 19 in August.
Vidonic (7-3-0) is now looking for a measure of revenge as she steps into the rematch on short notice. She recently rebounded from a two-fight losing skid by defeating “Slick” Sally Krumdiack in July. A win over Herrig would put Vidonic right back into contendership in division, but a loss would be Vidonic’s third defeat in her past four fights. She had won six straight prior to her first fight of 2012.
Bellator Fighting Championships 84 takes place on December 14th at The Venue at Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indiana.
(Photo Credit: Esther Lin, AllElbows.com / InvictaFC.com)