Campuzano out of McCall Bout; Tachi in Talks with Ex-Shooto Champs

Will Campuzano has been forced to withdraw from his flyweight title bout against Ian McCall at Tachi Palace Fights 11 due to a rib injury.

Sherdog.com confirmed the news with Tachi Palace entertainment coordinator Jeremy Luchau on Tuesday following an initial report from MMAJunkie.com. Luchau also confirmed that well-traveled veteran Thomas Denny has pulled out of his bout with Fabricio Camoes.

According to Luchau, the promotion the search for a replacement opponent for McCall (Pictured) is already underway. The promotion is currently in talks with a pair of former Shooto champions, Shinichi “B.J.” Kojima and Rambaa “M16” Somdet.

“Ian wants to fight someone in the Top 10, and Rambaa and B.J. might be available,” Luchau told Sherdog.com. “We are in negotiations currently. We want to put on the best fight possible.”

Formerly Shooto’s 123-pound titleholder, 32-year-old Kojima won the title in 2006 by choking out Mamoru Yamaguchi. Kojima successfully defended the belt three times before falling to Jussier da Silva in a 2009 non-title affair and subsequently vacating the title due to injury. He recently returned from a two-year hiatus, outpointing Masaaki Sugawara on April 6.

Somdet won Shooto’s inaugural 115-pound title in November 2009, earning a technical knockout over Noboru Tahara to capture the belt. The muay Thai stylist would defend his title only once before succumbing to injury, however, vacating the championship in April due to a torn biceps.

Going down Dec. 2 at the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino in Lemoore, Calif, Tachi Palace Fights 11 event will also feature featherweight and bantamweight title contests, as Issac DeJesus and Ulysses Gomez lock horns with Georgi Karakhanyan and Cody Gibson, respectively.