Uriah Hall
A week before the event, the UFC’s return to Boston appears to be in need of a replacement fighter.
Louis Taylor (11-3 MMA, 0-0 UFC), who was set to make his promotional debut against Uriah Hall (9-4 MMA, 2-2 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 59, on Sunday said he had to pull out of the fight due to a muscle injury. He also said the UFC released him from his deal after he informed them of the injury. The news came via MMA H.E.A.T.
“Bad news,” Taylor said. “Pulled a muscle in my back can’t fight next Sunday. Would’ve like to say UFC was understanding but they pulled my contract. All I can say is health over wealth.”
There has been no official word yet from the UFC about his removal from the fight, or if Hall will get a short-notice replacement for the bout, which was set for the main card.
UFC Fight Night 59 takes place next Sunday at TD Garden in Boston. The main card airs on FOX Sports 1 following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass.
Taylor, who had brief stints with Strikeforce and Bellator, is currently riding a four-fight winning streak with five victories in his past six fights. All of the wins have come via stoppage. Most recently, the Chicagoan submitted recent UFC fighter Brian Houston at APFC 17 in October.
Hall, “The Ultimate Fighter 17” runner-up, recently halted a two-fight skid with back-to-back wins over Chris Leben and Thiago Santos. It remains to be seen if he’ll remain on the UFC Fight Night 59 card.
With the change, the latest UFC Fight Night 59 lineup now includes:
MAIN CARD (FOX Sports 1, 10 p.m. ET)
- Conor McGregor vs. Dennis Siver
- Donald Cerrone vs. Benson Henderson
- Uriah Hall vs. TBA
- Norman Parke vs. Gleison Tibau
PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX Sports 1, 7 p.m. ET)
- Cathal Pendred vs. Sean Spencer
- John Howard vs. Lorenz Larkin
- Zhang Lipeng vs. Chris Wade
- Patrick Holohan vs. Shane Howell
- Johnny Case vs. Frankie Perez
- Charles Rosa vs. Sean Soriano
PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC Fight Pass, 6 p.m. ET)
- Sean O’Connell vs. Matt Van Buren
- Tateki Matsuda vs. Joby Sanchez
For more on UFC Fight Night 59, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.
