Taylor Withdraws from UFC 138; Diabate-Perosh Moved to Main Card
UFC officials Tuesday announced that lightweight Paul Taylor
suffered whiplash during a minor car accident and will be unable to
compete against Anthony
Njokuani at UFC
138. In light of the late change, a preliminary light
heavyweight contest between Anthony
Perosh and Cyrille
Diabate has been promoted to the evening’s main card.
According to the UFC’s announcement, Taylor’s vehicle was rear-ended while sitting at a red light on Monday night. Taylor most recently competed on Feb. 5, when he snapped a two-fight skid by posting a knockout victory over Gabe Ruediger at UFC 126.
Set to take place Nov. 5 at LG Arena in Birmingham, England, UFC 138 will be headlined by a middleweight confrontation between Chris Leben and Mark Munoz. The show’s undercard is expected to stream live on Facebook, while the evening’s main draw will air on Spike TV via same-day tape delay.
Perosh put forth a strong performance in his last Octagon outing, when he earned a quick submission victory over Tom Blackledge at UFC 127. The 39-year-old Sydney native debuted with the UFC in 2006, losing back-to-back contests as a heavyweight before receiving his walking papers. He returned to the Octagon in February 2010 on short notice, falling by technical knockout to heavyweight Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic at UFC 110.
Known for his tight striking, Diabate, 38, most recently dismantled Steve Cantwell at UFC Live 3 in March. “The Snake” has won two of his three UFC bouts, debuting with the promotion in May 2010 with a technical knockout of Luiz Cane. The Frenchman would be dominated by rising Swede Alexander Gustafsson in his next outing, however, Diabate’s first loss in MMA since a 2006 defeat to Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in the ring of Pride Fighting Championships.
According to the UFC’s announcement, Taylor’s vehicle was rear-ended while sitting at a red light on Monday night. Taylor most recently competed on Feb. 5, when he snapped a two-fight skid by posting a knockout victory over Gabe Ruediger at UFC 126.
Set to take place Nov. 5 at LG Arena in Birmingham, England, UFC 138 will be headlined by a middleweight confrontation between Chris Leben and Mark Munoz. The show’s undercard is expected to stream live on Facebook, while the evening’s main draw will air on Spike TV via same-day tape delay.
Perosh put forth a strong performance in his last Octagon outing, when he earned a quick submission victory over Tom Blackledge at UFC 127. The 39-year-old Sydney native debuted with the UFC in 2006, losing back-to-back contests as a heavyweight before receiving his walking papers. He returned to the Octagon in February 2010 on short notice, falling by technical knockout to heavyweight Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic at UFC 110.
Known for his tight striking, Diabate, 38, most recently dismantled Steve Cantwell at UFC Live 3 in March. “The Snake” has won two of his three UFC bouts, debuting with the promotion in May 2010 with a technical knockout of Luiz Cane. The Frenchman would be dominated by rising Swede Alexander Gustafsson in his next outing, however, Diabate’s first loss in MMA since a 2006 defeat to Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in the ring of Pride Fighting Championships.
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