Duffee Injured; Heavyweight Bout Nixed from Saturday’s Dream
Sherdog.com Staff Jul 11, 2011
Todd
Duffee will not fight on Saturday's Dream card. | Photo: Dave
Mandel
Onetime UFC heavyweight prospect Todd Duffee has reportedly been forced from Saturday’s Dream event in Tokyo due to an undisclosed injury.
According to a report from ESPN.com, Dream officials confirmed Monday that Duffee is out of his bout against Nick Gaston at “Fight for Japan: 2011 Japan Bantamweight Tournament Final,” which takes place at Tokyo’s Ariake Coliseum.
Event organizers stated that Gaston was also removed from the card due to the withdrawal, though “Afrozilla” was not expected to compete after suffering a June 24 knockout loss to Tyler East in Oklahoma. Canadian heavyweight and former Duffee victim Tim Hague had reportedly been contacted by Dream as a replacement, but the parties could not come to terms.
Duffee, 25, last competed on Dec. 31, when he took a short-notice bout against world-ranked Dutchman Alistair Overeem in Saitama, Japan, for the Dream interim heavyweight title. The Indiana native was flattened in just 19 seconds, his second consecutive knockout loss after a May 2010 defeat at the hands of Mike Russow which saw Duffee bounced from the UFC. Formerly fighting out of American Top Team, Duffee currently trains alongside UFC heavyweight Shane Carwin at Denver’s Grudge Training Center.
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