Photo courtesy: UFC
UFC 230 is undergoing another change to the main card with the news that former middleweight champion Luke Rockhold is unable to fight on the show.
ESPN’s Brett Okamoto and Ariel Helwani are reporting that Rockhold suffered several injuries that led to his withdrawal. The report lists an infection to his left shin that required a stem cell graft to be inserted. That injury was compounded when he sprained his right knee Thursday and suffered a broken nose in preparing for the card.
Rockhold was set to rematch Chris Weidman on the show, which was a rematch from UFC 194 in December 2015 that Rockhold won to become champion of the division.
ESPN adds that the UFC is attempting to shuffle the card and get Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza to fight Weidman on short notice. Souza is scheduled to fight David Branch on the same card.
Chris Weidman issued the following statement after news of the injury was made public:
I am focused on this fight. I’ll be at MSG on Nov 3. Doesn’t matter who they put in front of me. I’m getting my belt back. My management and ufc will figure the rest out.
