Ion Cutelaba has been forced off the UFC Brooklyn card, leaving Glover Teixeira in need of an opponent with precious little time before fight night arrives.
Well, it hasn’t been a great day for the UFC’s upcoming debut on ESPN. The promotion has lost not one but two key fighters from the UFC Booklyn card. Following John Lineker being forced off the event due to injury, it appears Ion Cutelaba has also fallen victim to the injury bug. ESPN’s Ariel Helwani first reported the development.
Cutelaba (14-3, 1NC) was last seen in action at UFC Calgary (UFC on FOX 30), where he defeated Gadzhimurad Antigulov by TKO. That was Cutelaba’s first fight back following a suspension for using “ozone therapy,” a blood transfusion process banned under the UFC’s Anti-Doping Policy, as administered by USADA.
Overall, the light heavyweight is 3-2 in the promotion. He was expected to face Glover Teixeira at UFC Brooklyn, leaving the former light heavyweight title challenger in need of an opponent. With little over a week until the card (the UFC’s first event of both 2019 and the ESPN era), that could turn out to be a tall order.
UFC Brooklyn (UFC Fight Night 143) takes place Saturday, January 19 at the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn, NY. The card is headlined by a champ vs. champ battle between flyweight title holder Henry Cejudo and bantamweight king T.J. Dillashaw. Cejudo’s 125lb title is on the line.
