A lightweight matchup between Vagner Rocha (11-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC) and Joe Ellenberger (14-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) has been scrapped just three days before it was set to take place.
UFC officials on Wednesday announced that Rocha suffered an injury in training and was forced to withdraw from this weekend’s UFC 172 event. Without time to find a suitable replacement opponent for Ellenberger, the bout was scrapped.
UFC 172 takes place at Maryland’s Baltimore Arena. The pay-per-view main card follows prelims on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass. Ellenberger vs. Rocha was set to take place on FOX Sports 1. That slot will now be filled by Charlie Brenneman vs. Danny Castillo, which was expected to stream on the UFC Fight Pass portion of the event.
Rocha is a Bellator MMA and Strikeforce vet who went 1-2 in his first UFC stint back in 2012. However, since then, the Brazilian has posted a 4-0 record with three submission victories. A timetable for his return wasn’t immediately established.
Rocha was actually serving as a replacement for Yancy Medeiros, who was pulled from the fight in favor of a UFC 172 matchup with Jim Miller, who was in need of an opponent after Bobby Green had to withdraw from the event.
A UFC official confirmed that both Ellenberger and Rocha will still received their guaranteed “show” money despite the fight being scratched. Additionally, with three other lightweight bouts on the UFC 172 lineup, Ellenberger will still be prepared to make weight at Friday’s official ceremony and serve as an alternate should any other late replacements be needed.
With the late change to the card, the UFC 172 lineup now includes:
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)
- Champ Jon Jones vs. Glover Teixeira – for light heavyweight title
- Phil Davis vs. Anthony Johnson
- Tim Boetsch vs. Luke Rockhold
- Yancy Medeiros vs. Jim Miller
- Andre Fili vs. Max Holloway
PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX Sports 1, 8 p.m. ET)
- Joseph Benavidez vs. Timothy Elliott
- Takanori Gomi vs. Isaac Vallie-Flagg
- Bethe Correia vs. Jessamyn Duke
- Charlie Brenneman vs. Danny Castillo
PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC Fight Pass, 7:30 p.m. ET)
- Chris Beal vs. Patrick Williams
For more on UFC 172, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.
(Pictured: Vagner Rocha)
