UFC middleweight Alessio Sakara released a statement to MMA Fighting earlier today regarding his withdrawal from UFC 133 on August 6th. He had been scheduled to fight Jorge Rivera, but suffered a knee injury and was replaced in the bout by Constantinos Philippou. Here's what he had to say:

"I tried to ignore the pain until now, thinking I had just sprained the knee," he said. "I kept training without using my legs. I wanted to get to the fight in a good condition somehow, but the MRI diagnosed that I broke my ligaments, and now I can't fight!

"I apologize to all my supporters. Please remember that I am a fighter and that I want to fight for all my life. But now, I must wait until I am fully healed before I can fight again. I hope you all understand."

This is the third time that a bout between the two has been scrapped. The first was scheduled for UFC 118, where Rivera was the one to pull out with an arm injury. The bout was rescheduled for UFC 122, but Sakara pulled out right before the weigh-ins with something resembling influenza.