Michael Chiesa injured, out of UFC Fight Night 91 bout against Tony Ferguson
The injury bug continues to make its presence felt in 2016. This time UFC lightweight contender Michael Chiesa is the latest to be afflicted, as Chiesa has been forced to withdraw from his main event slot opposite Tony Ferguson on July 13 at UFC Fight Night 91 due to a back injury.
MMA Fighting confirmed the news Monday following an initial report from MMA Junkie. The UFC is currently searching for a replacement opponent to fight Ferguson on a two weeks' notice at UFC Fight Night 91.
Chiesa revealed in a subsequent Twitter post that he suffered a fully ruptured disk while training and will have to undergo eight weeks of physical therapy to avoid surgery.
— Michael Chiesa (@MikeMav22) June 27, 2016
Ferguson (20-3), meanwhile, is the No. 3 ranked contender in the UFC's official media-generated ranking. His seven-fight win streak is one of the most impressive marks in the lightweight division, however 2016 has been an unlucky year for him thus far.
Over recent months, the 32-year-old Ferguson has seen planned bouts against Michael Johnson and Khabib Nurmagomedov both fall through due to various circumstances. Now he will be forced to deal with another switch on the fly, provided that the UFC is able to find him a suitable opponent on short notice for July 13.
UFC Fight Night 91 takes place at the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. An updated fight card can be seen below.
- Tony Ferguson vs. TBA
- John Lineker vs. Michael McDonald
- Tim Boetsch vs. Josh Samman
- Alexey Oleinik vs. Daniel Omielanczuk
- Keita Nakamura vs. Kyle Noke
- Ben Nguyen vs. Louis Smolka
- Ryan Hall vs. Alex White
- Cortney Casey vs. Cristina Stanciu
- Sam Alvey vs. Eric Spicely
- Matthew Lopez vs. Rani Yahya
- Devin Clark vs. Alex Nicholson
- Scott Holtzman vs. Cody Pfister