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You didn't think the injury bug would just stop, did you? It is back with a vengeance and has significantly affected another welterweight bout. With less than a month to go before UFC 151 in Las Vegas, the scheduled co-main event between Josh Koscheck and Jake Ellenberger has been scrapped due to an injury to Koscheck. The news broke earlier tonight on the FUEL TV program UFC Tonight:
— UFC Tonight (@UFCTonight) August 8, 2012
#Breaking:@joshkoscheck has bulging disc in his back.He’s out of#UFC151.No new opponent for@ellenbergermma
It's an extremely damaging blow to a card lacking in any sort of star power beyond the main event of Jon Jones vs. Dan Henderson, and it's now a 6th time in the last 7 UFC events that either the main event or co-main event has been changed.
Koscheck and Ellenberger were both coming off losses in fights with title implications against Johny Hendricks and Martin Kampmann respectively. It's the first time Koscheck has pulled out of a fight due to injury since 2010 when he was unable to rematch Paulo Thiago at UFC 109.
No immediate replacement has been named for Ellenberger, but I'd imagine the UFC is scrambling to find someone willing to step up on less than a month's notice. Many of the top welterweights are currently booked on other shows, injured (like Rory MacDonald) or have just recently fought. Notable guys without a fight scheduled are (as of Saturday night) B.J. Penn, Thiago Alves and Siyar Bahadurzada.
SBN coverage of UFC 151: Jones vs. Henderson
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