In possibly the news of this year UFC lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov is hurt. According to reports, Nurmagomedov was forced to pull out of his Ultimate Fighter 22 Finale co-headlining bout against Tony Ferguson due to a rib injury. There are preliminary discussions but as of now, nothing is set in stone. That makes it the third straight fight Nurmagomedov hasn’t managed to determine to completion. It began with a projected UFC 178 battle against Donald Cerrone that”The Eagle” was forced out of after a knee injury. When the bout was rescheduled for UFC 187, he reaggravated the knee and he’s out of the December fight. Nurmagomedov hasn’t fought because a unanimous decision victory over now-UFC Lightweight Champion Rafael Dos Anjos. Depending on the length of time it takes for him to recuperate from this rib setback, he could be on over a two-year break before he sees that the Octagon . Ross Pearson vs. Francisco Trinaldo — UFC Fight Night 81 While one UFC bout was cancelled, another was declared as recent winners Ross Pearson and Francisco Trinaldo have been supposed to throw down in Boston this upcoming January. Pearson was successful in his final bout over Paul Felder via unanimous conclusion despite being a hefty underdog. Trinaldo did exactly the exact same thing, winning through first round TKO over Chad Laprise this August as a dog that is huge. This is a fight that is fairly evenly matched, but Trinaldo has more momentum. The Brazilian has won four straight bouts and is coming off the best success of his career while Pearson has been not able to string any wins together in his last eight fights. Even though Pearson has more name recognition, it wouldn’t surprise me to view Trinaldo open because the little betting popular this time around because of his current string of success.

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