The UFC announced the fight card for the upcoming UFC 302 earlier this month, yet one notable fighter set to compete has been forced to withdraw due to injury.
Rising middleweight contender Anthony Hernandez posted late Monday that MRI results revealed he his dealing with a torn ligament in one of his hands and is out of his 185-pound matchup with Roman Dolidze.
“On Friday while training I sustained an injury, I got my MRI results back this morning and unfortunately due to a torn ligament in my hand, I will no longer be able to fight on June 1,” Hernandez wrote. “I want to apologize to the UFC, my opponent, and the best matchmaker Mick Maynard, but this was not an injury I could push through. I hope for a quick return and be back in the cage before summer ends. Thank you to all my fans, friends & family for the continued support. The journey continues.”
Hernandez, 30, is riding a five-fight winning streak and coming off a submission victory over Roman Kopylov that earned him a Performance of the Night bonus at UFC 298 in February.
Dolidze is coming off back-to-back decision losses to Nassourdine Imamov and Marvin Vettori, and is now in need of a new opponent.
UFC 302 is set to take place in Newark, N.J., on June 1, with champion Islam Makhachev and challenger Dustin Poirier competing for the lightweight title in the main event and a five-round middleweight contest between Sean Strickland and Paulo Costa featured in the co-main event.
Aspinall speaks on UFC 304 local start time
UFC 304 is set to take place July 27 in Manchester, England, yet you wouldn’t necessarily know the event is taking place in Europe, based on a start time that caters to a North American audience.
The pay-per-view main card is scheduled to begin at the usual 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT, which means the main event will not be expected to begin until around 5 a.m. local time. The preliminary card is scheduled to begin around 11 p.m. local time.
Tom Aspinall, one of England’s top mixed martial arts stars, recently said on his YouTube channel he thinks it’s unfair to the local fan base, despite also understanding the logistics.
“As a fan who wants to watch it live, I think it is absolutely terrible,” he said. “I think it’s just not fair on the fans, not fair on the U.K. fans.
“Obviously, predominantly it’s an American audience, so I understand that they want to sell to them, but why can’t they sell to them in the afternoon, which is our evening time? Why can’t the Americans watch it in the afternoon? And the U.K. fans, the Manchester fans, the European fans, can all fly to this event, sell out this new arena. I mean, it’s going to sell out regardless, mate. We’re very, very, very, very lucky to have a pay-per-view event in Manchester. Very lucky. But U.K. MMA, let’s put it on U.K. time.”
Aspinall is likely to compete in either the main or co-main event at UFC 304, although the organization has not yet announced his next opponent, and he added the local time wouldn’t impact his ability to compete as an athlete. Merely that he doesn’t think it’s an ideal scenario for the fans in attendance.
Pimblett prefers Moicano over Green
Another likely candidate to compete at UFC 304 is England’s Paddy Pimblett.
The popular lightweight is coming off a unanimous decision win over one-time interim 155-pound champion Tony Ferguson in December and does not currently have his next opponent figured out.
Bobby Green earned a win over Jim Miller at UFC 300 and called out Pimblett after getting his hand raised.
Just two fights later, Renato Moicano did the same thing after he defeated Jalin Turner at the blockbuster event.
“As you know, UFC 300, everybody wants a slice of ‘The Baddy,’” Pimblett said on his YouTube channel. “Bobby Green screamed my name on the mic after it. Didn’t surprise me, know what I mean? He might be ranked, but he’s got no followers and he needs me. Just like everyone else, they want to fight me because they know I’m the boy. Bobby Green’s an option. If Bobby Green wants to fight, I’m there.
“I’d rather fight my boy, Moicano. Where you at, Renato? I don’t even dislike Renato Moicano. I actually like him. He’s a funny guy. He’s a cool dude, so me and him having a fight would be hilarious. The buildup to that fight would be very, very funny.”
Pimblett added he wants to fight a ranked opponent and have a number next to his name after that.
