UFC 133 Fight Card: Riki Fukuda Injured, Out of Event

Bloody Elbow 2.0 | Anton Tabuena

According to his twitter account, Japanese wrester Riki Fukuda sustained an injury to his left knee and will be forced to withdraw from his UFC 133 middleweight bout with Rafael “Sapo” Natal.

Fukuda made his UFC debut against Nick Ring at UFC 127. He dropped a decision to Ring in a fight that many felt he won. That loss snapped a 7 fight win streak for Fukuda.

UFC 133 will be headlined by Rashad Evans vs. Phil Davis in a light heavyweight title eliminator bout and marks the promotion’s return to Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center.

I had a car accident on 16th of July. I broke my left knee and it seems require surgery.less than a minute ago via Keitai Web Favorite Retweet Replyriki fukuda
rikifukuda

Presumably Fukuda means the accident happened on June 16th.

Update by Tim Burke – BE’s # 6 middleweight prospect Constantinos Philippou (7-2, 0-1 UFC) has stepped in as a replacement and will face Natal at UFC 133 according to Natal’s twitter.

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About the author

Nate Wilcox

Nate Wilcox is the founding editor of BloodyElbow.com. As such he has hired every editor and writer to work for the site. Wilcox’s writing for BE is known for its emphasis on MMA history, the evolution of fighting techniques and strong opinions. Wilcox developed the SBN MMA consensus rankings which were featured in USA Today from 2009 to 2011. Before founding BE, Wilcox was a political operative working for such figures as Senators John Kerry and Mark Warner and an early political blogger. He is the co-author of Netroots Rising, a history of the political blogosphere from 2003 to 2007. Wilcox also hosts the Let It Roll podcast on music history for the Pantheon Podcast Network.