UFC rivals Frankie “The Answer” Edgar and Gray “The Bully” Maynard will no longer square off for a third time at UFC 130. Both fighters have been sidelined due to injuries and their UFC Lightweight Championship rubber match has been postponed until an undetermined date later this year.
MMAFighting.com first reported on both fighters’ injuries shortly before an official announcement from the UFC today. Edgar reportedly suffered two broken ribs in training, while Maynard incurred an injury to his knee that is not believed to be serious. The two may now face each other in the Fall.
Edgar (13-1-1) and Maynard (10-0-1, 1 NC) first faced off at UFC Fight Night 13 on April 2, 2008, with Maynard taking a Unanimous Decision after three rounds. Many observers expected a similar result in the pair’s championship rematch at UFC 125 on January 1st, but Edgar was instead very fortunate to narrowly escape a brutal beating in the first round that resulted in more than a few 10-7 verdicts for Maynard on unofficial scorecards.
The champion rallied back, however, and managed to earn a Split Draw on the judges’ cards after five rounds. Both fighters felt that they had done enough to win the fight and an immediate rubber match was booked for UFC 130. The fight will have to wait after today’s injury news, but UFC President Dana White stated that Edgar and Maynard may now square off in August or September.
A light heavyweight bout between former champ Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Matt “The Hammer” Hamill will now headline UFC 130, with heavyweights Frank Mir and Roy “Big Country” Nelson set to compete in the new co-main event.
UFC 130 takes place on May 28th at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
UFC 130 Fight Card (subject to change):
– Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs Matt “The Hammer” Hamill
– Roy “Big Country” Nelson vs Frank Mir
– Stefan “Skyscraper” Struve vs Travis “Hapa” Browne
– Jorge Santiago vs “The All-American” Brian Stann
– Thiago “Pitbull” Alves vs Ricky “The Horror” Story
– Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson vs Miguel Torres
– Tim “The Barbarian” Boetsch vs Kendall “Da Spyder” Grove
– Cody “AK Kid” McKenzie vs Bart “Bartimus” Palaszewski
– Michael “Mayday” McDonald vs Chris “Kamikaze” Cariaso
– Renan “Barao” do Nascimento Mota Pegado vs Cole “The Triangle” Escovedo
(Photo Credit: Sherdog.com)
What a coincidence…