Word has come out via MMAWeekly.com that “The Phenom” Vitor Belfort has suffered another injury and will be sidelined from his UFC 122 fight against Yushin Okami. Nate Marquardt, who recently fought, has been tapped to replace him in the number one contenders bout. We’ll update this story as word come out.

Seems like the eye injury suffered by UFC 119 main eventer Mirko Cro Cop Filipovic may not be as simple as was first made out. An injury was suffered via eye poke, and Fighter’s Only had the information we were all looking for:

“It was the very last minute of the very last round of the very last sparring,” CroCop told Fighters Only staff writer John Joe O’Regan today. “We were sparring in UFC gloves and my sparring partner – who is about 120 kilos, Croatia’s best thai boxer – he poked me in the eye. The pain was like… I cant even describe it, the pain was so big I thought he had blinded me. I went to see a doctor and he advised that the eye should be rested minimum two weeks. But I have made a commitment to the UFC and a commitment to the fans, so there is no question of backing out of the fight. I do not want to let anyone down, I know they could not find a replacement for me at this short notice and many fans have already bought tickets for the show.”

Did anyone else notice that Cro Cop’s doctor suggested two weeks but he’s giving it only one week..while seeing Cop in action is amazing it would be a shame if he got hurt as a result of the damage he suffered before the fight. You can’t say enough good things about his heart though. UFC 119 is set for September 25.

The internet has been abuzz with rumors that headliner Mirko Cro Cop Filipovic had injured himself while training and that he would not be fighting against Frank Mir but they appear to be untrue. Both UFC president Dana White and CC himself have said that the show will go on, with the Cop explaining that the eye injury suffered wasn’t severe enough to stop him from fighting. Here’s the quote, via a translation(index for the quote, translated by Modercai :

Mirko Filipovic isnt seriously injured after all and he should fight against Frank Mir in Indianapolis.

Index found out yesterday that Cro Cop on his last training before trip got a nasty hit in the eye and it seemd like the fight against american MMA fighter is questionable. But at friday Filipovic made few specialist check ups at doctors and they concluded that he can travel normaly and ofcourse fight against Mir.

“I got a hit in eye, that is true, but it isnt that serious as it seemed. Its not the first nor the last hit in the eye I earned in career. That type of things happen on trainings. Tomorrow we travel for USA and fight against Mir isnt questionable. I feel good and im ready for the fight.”

Cro Cop will face Frank Mir on September 25 as part of UFC 119, and we can’t wait!

Fans may have noticed Curtis Brigham cornering fighters at previous Canadian Fighting Championship events. Brigham, the Winnipeg Academy of Mixed Martial Arts founder and head coach, has been instrumental in the success of WAMMA fighters like Eric Perez, Dominick Blais, Roland Delorme and many others. Now, after a six year layoff, fans will have a chance to see Brigham at CFC 6.

Brigham started fighting in 1999 and had a 9-5 record spanning a five year fight career that had Curtis fighting all over the globe. However, in 2004, Brigham seemingly hung up the gloves as an undersized fighter in an unpopular sport. That all changed in the past six years. Everyone is aware of the UFC skyrocketing to popularity thanks to success of The Ultimate Fighter. The WEC also came around and made celebrities out of smaller fighters like Urijah Faber.

Now fans will be able to see WAMMA’s ‘Boss’ fight on October 8th. Brigham, who has fought in Japan and all over the USA and Canada, has faced tough opposition over his career. The submission specialist has beaten future Bellator fighter Brian Green in 2003. Brigham also took a much larger, future UFC Lightweight champion Sean Sherk into the third round of a fight.

Tickets to see Curtis Brigham and his WAMMA students Eric Perez, Dominick Blais, and Roland Delorme are now available at Ticketmaster. Need a better sight line to the action? Please call 772-2599 to make your VIP table arrangements.

Munduruca Out
At the same time as the exciting Brigham announcement, the CFC must also acknowledge that Rodrigo Munduruca has pulled out of his CFC 6 fight due to injury. Although Rodrigo will be missed, Brigham is a fantastic replacement of one submission specialist with another. Brigham has won all nine of his victories by submission. Brigham is not one to leave decisions in the judges’ hands.

Medical doctors in British Columbia, Canada are asking for a federal ban on Mixed Martial Arts, citing that there are more brain injuries and less safety rules than boxing. Seems like yet another group has jumped on the “Hate MMA” bandwagon though you would think that this group would be smart enough to not consider MMA any more dangerous than other professional sports. Here’s the blurb, via the Montreal Gazette:

If the national group agrees to adopt the resolution, it will lobby the federal government to bring an end to MMA contests in the country.

Dr. Ian Gillespie, president of the B.C. organization, said the resolution was passed because doctors are concerned about the potential for serious injury, including brain damage.

“We know there are a number of serious injuries that can occur, including broken limbs, lacerations and brain damage,” said Gillespie.

“Recently, an MMA fighter making his professional debut in South Carolina died from a brain hemorrhage after receiving repeated blows to his head, and during an event in Vancouver, a number of MMA fighters received emergency care at Vancouver General Hospital for lacerations, fractured limbs and severe facial bruising.”

He cited a Johns Hopkins University study in 2006 that found that, since the first UFC match in 1993, the overall rate of injury in MMA has become similar to that of other combat sports, including boxing.

The study said MMA knockout rates are lower than in boxing, which suggests a reduced rate of traumatic brain injury in MMA compared to other combat sports.

However, Gillespie said the B.C. group takes the position that MMA fights are more dangerous than boxing because of fewer safety rules.

“It’s our understanding what distinguishes mixed martial arts fighting from boxing, for instance, is the use of various techniques to disable the opponent that aren’t limited to punching and the fewer of what might be called safety rules. For example, MMA allows a fighter to attack an opponent while down and we believe those things increase the risk of serious injury,” said Gillespie.

We’ll keep you up to date on this story, although MMA has a strong chance of returning to Canada as it’s a huge economic boon to whatever city hosts it. Vancouver, British Columbia has had huge problems with licensing despite a successful UFC show so expect the province to continue to keep mixed martial arts out.

“The New York Bad Ass” Phil Baroni has withdrawn from his bout against John Salter which had been scheduled for UFC 118: Edgar Vs. Penn 2 due to injury. Baroni damaged his collar bone during training, and used twitter to express his frustration:

I cant take it anymore. Im freaking out. anxiety im shot. beaten.

While Baroni has a name that many MMA fans recognize there’s considerable doubt as to whether his talent level is good enough to keep him in the UFC. A loss to Salter would have, more than likely, forced the UFC to drop the axe and remove him from the roster. There’s no word on a replacement at this time, but we’ll bring you word as it comes out.

Update: An update from MMA Diehards has 11-4 Dan Miller replacing Baroni against John Salter at UFC 118. Miller is 3-3 in the UFC and has been given one more shot at keeping his job with the promotion after having lost his last three fights. He last appeared at UFC 114 in May, losing a unanimous decision to Michael Bisping on the main card.

No official word has been released on the fight and where it may place on the nights card.

Click here to view the embedded video.

UFC middleweight fighter Jason “The Athlete” MacDonald is interviewed at his promotion Pure FC recently. He offers fans an update on his leg injury, which he suffered at UFC 113 last May, and talks about his return to the octagon.

HT: MMACanada.net

Shoulder Injury and Prevention
Applications for the Bench Press Exercise
by Ramsey Rodriguez, NSCA, CSCS

What do you hear when you ask someone, “what’s wrong with your shoulder?” The most
common response is: "...well the doctor thinks it’s my Rotator Cuff muscle, but that’s it."
Typically, rest followed by ice and/or aspirin is recommended. This might work if it’s the first

Highly touted lightweight prospect Willamy "Chiquerim" Freire will have to wait just a bit longer to make his octagon debut.

An injury suffered in training forced Freire to withdraw from a planned
contest with Thiago Tavares at UFC on Versus 2.

MMAjunkie.com confirmed with sources close to the
fight that a knee injury is the culprit. Tatame.com first reported
Freire's withdrawal.

The lightweights of WEC 50's new co-main event expect big things in the future.

Anthony Pettis and Shane Roller, both of whom got a bump after former featherweight champion Urijah Faber was forced to bow out of the co-headliner slot with an injury, could be in line for a shot at current 155-pound title-holder Benson Henderson.

Although the promotion traditionally makes no such guarantees, representatives for Pettis and Roller expect the fight to determine a new No. 1 contender.