Officials for Global Fighting LLC on Monday postponed the inaugural Godz of War show, which was scheduled for Saturday at the Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, N.C. The promotion did not announce a new date for the event.
A rematch between former UFC heavyweight champion
Ricco Rodriguez (Pictures) and the American Top Team's
Jeff Monson (Pictures) was scheduled to anchor the Godz of War premiere, though Monson had become a question mark after he suffered a broken hand in his loss to
Josh Barnett (Pictures) last month in Japan. Rodriguez took the first bout between the two in January 2002, as he stopped Monson on strikes at UFC 35.
The 30-year-old Rodriguez (28-9) has battled a myriad of personal problems throughout his career, from weight to substance abuse, and even appeared on the VH-1 reality show "Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew." He last competed in the Yamma Pit Fighting heavyweight tournament in April, as he reached the semi-finals before bowing out to eventual champion
Travis Wiuff (Pictures). Rodriguez holds notable wins against UFC Hall-of-Famer
Randy Couture (Pictures), former UFC heavyweight champion
Andrei Arlovski (Pictures) and
Paul Buentello (Pictures).
Monson (24-8), who turned 37 in January, has posted 18 wins in 21 fights. One of the heavyweight division's premier grapplers, he has secured 15 of his 24 career victories by submission. He counts wins against former Cage Rage champion
Tengiz Tedoradze (Pictures) and Japanese veteran
Kazuyuki Fujita (Pictures) among his conquests.
The nine-card event was also scheduled to feature one-time UFC middleweight champion
Murilo Bustamante (Pictures), Pride Fighting Championships mainstay
Luiz Azeredo (Pictures) and UFC veterans
Josh Haynes (Pictures),
Carmelo Marrero (Pictures) and
Pat Healy (Pictures). Promoters had billed the event as "the biggest MMA competition ever on the East Coast."