Forrest Griffin withdraws from UFC 114; Antonio Rogerio Nogueira waits for new opponent
by John Morgan on May 03, 2010 at 11:05 pm ET
An intriguing co-main event scheduled for UFC 114 has been put on hold as Forrest Griffin (17-6 MMA, 8-4 UFC) has suffered an undisclosed injury in training and has been forced to withdraw from his bout with Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (18-3 MMA, 1-0 UFC).
MMAjunkie.com (
www.mmajunkie.com) learned of the change from sources close to the original winner of "The Ultimate Fighter," though the loss has yet to be announced by the promotion.
The sources also indicated Nogueira hopes to remain on the card, and a replacement opponent is currently being sought.
Featuring a light heavyweight grudge match between former opposing "The Ultimate Fighter" coaches Rashad Evans and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, "UFC 114: Jackson vs. Evans" takes place May 29 in Las Vegas, and the main card airs live on pay-per-view.
Griffin had hoped to build on a split-decision win over previous rival Tito Ortiz at UFC 106 this past November. The razor-thin decision provided an important victory for Griffin after he suffered a devastating knockout to current UFC middleweight champ and Nogueira training partner Anderson Silva.
The win over Ortiz was Griffin's first victory since defeating Quinton "Rampage" Jackson in July 2008 to claim the UFC's light heavyweight title. Griffin lost the belt in his first defense when Rashad Evans defeated him via third-round TKO.
Meanwhile, Nogueira seeks his second UFC win after stunning countryman Luiz Cane with a "Knockout of the Night" performance on the same card as Griffin's win over Ortiz.
The win was Nogueira' sixth-straight overall, and five of the wins during that current streak have come via stoppage. The twin brother of UFC heavyweight contender Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, "Little Nog's" three career losses have to come to current UFC contenders Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and Vladimir Matyushenko, as well as UFC and PRIDE veteran Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou.
A timetable for Griffin's was not immediately evident.
