Injury Forces Matt Serra off UFC 79 Fight Card

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Heres the link:

Injury Forces Matt Serra off UFC 79 Fight Card -- MMAjunkie.com



The UFC 79 main event is no more.UFC welterweight champion and current “The Ultimate Fighter” coach Matt Serra (9-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC) suffered a herniated disc during a Monday training session and has been forced to pull out of his headline bout with former champ Matt Hughes (41-5 MMA, 15-3 UFC).

The fight was supposed to be the main draw of UFC 79, which takes place Dec. 29 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.

“This is devastating news because they were so looking forward to fighting each other,” stated UFC President Dana White on UFC.com. “Unfortunately, injuries happen, and I look forward to Serra recovering quickly and to getting him back into the octagon.“

According to the report, Serra had just finished a routine training session when he was “gripped with pain and fell to the floor” while demonstrating a move. The 33-year-old New Yorker was rushed to a hospital, where an MRI revealed the herniated disc in his lower back.

There was no word on how long Serra might be out of action.

“This is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do,” Serra stated. “I’ve never had a back injury before; I could hardly get off of the MRI table. There is no way I can train through this, and I’m devastated, especially because this was such an important fight. I was looking forward to fighting Matt Hughes. All my training was going phenomenally until Monday. All I can do now is to get better and to fight again as soon as possible.“

Unfortunately, the welterweight division’s title picture — which was already shut down for the taping and release of “The Ultimate Fighter: Team Hughes vs. Team Serra” — will be further delayed.

The division, which is perhaps the deepest in the organization, has been on hold since Serra defeated former champ Georges St. Pierre nearly eight months ago. Soon after winning the belt, Serra was offered a chance to coach opposite Hughes, with whom he has a fairly bitter feud. The championship fight was supposed to cap off the Spike TV reality series.

In fact, St. Pierre, who scored a unanimous-decision over Josh Koscheck in August to earn top-contender’s status, could also be out of action for an extended period of time. White said that St. Pierre won’t fight again until his title shot with the winner of Serra vs. Hughes, and the former champion has already been on the sideline for the past three months.

With the loss of Serra vs. Hughes, and with the short time frame until UFC 79, a main-card bout between former UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell and former PRIDE title-holder Wanderlei Silva could be bumped up to main-event status for the pay-per-view event. Both fighters are coming off back-to-back losses, but the bout remains one of the most-anticipated in mixed martial arts.

For the latest UFC 79 news, check out the UFC Rumors section of MMAjunkie.com.

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Link:

Matt Hughes Thinks Matt Serra’s Injury is Legit



The UFC officially announced earlier today that current welterweight champion Matt Serra has injured his back and will be unable to compete in the main event at UFC 79. His scheduled opponent for the Dec. 29 fight, former UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes, today issued a statement, saying that he doesn’t think the injury “is a ploy not to fight.“

Hughes posted the statement on his blog at matt-hughes.com.
Whether it was a veiled knock at Serra or not, Hughes said that he believes his opponent is genuinely injured. However, Hughes also said he had suffered a similar injury and was able to fight through it.

“I believe Serra is actually hurt, so I don’t think this is just a ploy not to fight,” Hughes wrote. “Before my Royce (Gracie) fight (at UFC 60), I had three bulged discs that I was able to repair enough to fight. As everybody knows, you never go into a fight 100 percent.“

A timetable for Serra’s return isn’t known.

Hughes also confirmed that he hasn’t been booked for a possible Plan B fight. Hughes, who coached opposite Serra on the current season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” earned a title shot by defeating Chris Lytle at UFC 68 in March. Although it seems unlikely that the UFC would make Hughes fight a different opponent in the interim, it’s always a possibility.

“I’m just going to continue to train until I find out what’s next,” Hughes stated.

As it stands, UFC 79’s main card still features bouts of Chuck Liddell vs. Wanderlei Silva, Lyoto Machida vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, and Rich Clementi vs. Melvin Guillard

[v11gt]

matt is going to win easy or not?, and I am not tottaly with that injury, maybe something very very little

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The injury actually is very legit.Its being reported even on Sherdog.I was looking forward to this fight.Its months if not years in the making.

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Friday, November 23, 2007

by Sherdog.com Staff

The UFC welterweight championship will be contested for just once in 2007.Matt Serra,who claimed the belt with a shocking win over Georges St. Pierre this April, suffered herniated discs in his lower back Monday, forcing him to withdraw from his anticipated Dec. 29 title defense against former two-time 170-pound champion Matt Hughes,the UFC announced Thursday.

Serra and Hughes, who share a healthy rivalry, are coaches on "The Ultimate Fighter 6" and would have fought in the co-main event of UFC 79 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.

According to UFC.com, Serra, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under Renzo Gracie,was injured while demonstrating a move following one of his training sessions.A subsequent MRI revealed the severity of the injury.

The UFC neither named an replacement for Serra, nor announce whether Hughes would remain on the card.

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Originally Posted by v11gt

matt is going to win easy or not?, and I am not tottaly with that injury, maybe something very very little

Not sure if you read the latest...but Matt Serra has been replaced by George St.Pierre.Since Serra wont be able to fight.

That means Hughes vs St.Pierre 3

This should be a great fight too...but its for the Interem Belt...the winner will then face Matt Serra for the Belt...early sometime next year in 2008

[methoddan]

matt serra v matt hughes was going to be a great fight. Personnally i think serra would have tore hughes up but thats cuz i think hughes is a jacka$$, even though he is one of the best of all time. Watching the UF on spiketv only backed up my position. All Hughes would do is whine and cry about his guys not giving the effort or following his gameplan, which was not a problem for the fighters on serras team. This just shows that matt hughes has his head in his anus

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This now causes a small problem in my eyes...In the Spring when Serra recovers from his injury...it may not be Hughes vs Serra.Since its now GSP vs Hughes for the Interm Title....If GSP wins then obviously it will be him fighting Serra for the Welterweight Title.

But im still hoping on the original match eventually happening in the Spring...Hughes doesnt have many fights left in him...so if he doesnt get by GSP....

THEN THERE MAY BE NOT A HUGHES VS SERRA 2.

I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

[greenbay999]

That sucks It would've been a good fight I hope it happens