If you thought the recent rash of fighter injuries that has plagued the UFC was slowing down, think again. Terry Etim is the latest casualty, as he pulled out of his fight against Joe Lauzon which was scheduled for UFC on Fox 4 in Los Angeles on August 4th. Lauzon shared the unique perspective of a fighter while discussing the injury issue on his blog:
Injuries have been plaguing the UFC as of late. Joe Silva, the UFC’s Matchmaker, has been putting together some AMAZING fights but the fighters aren’t quite making it to the cage. It’s not that fighters are suddenly becoming diva’s or choosing not to fight in hopes of exploiting the UFC’s semi-new accident insurance. Fighter’s are training really hard to be at their best so they push themselves to their limits… and in some cases beyond.
Today after one of my workouts, I checked my phone and had a missed call and voicemail. “Mr Lauzon… it’s Joe [Silva], I don’t usually have good news… give me a call back.” And just like that, I scream a few obscenities at my boxing coach because I know. Terry Etim is out of the fight.
We spent a LOT of time breaking down tape, working VERY specific things for Terry Etim… for the second time. Terry and I were supposed to fight once before at UFC118 in Boston… but he broke his ribs in training and was forced to pull out. For whatever reason… Terry and I are just never going to fight. I wish him a speedy recovery and hope its nothing too serious.
Fortunately for Joe, the UFC was able to quickly secure a replacement, and it’s former WEC lightweight champ, Jamie Varner, who made his return to the UFC on short notice last month, and surprised many fans by TKOing the seemingly unstoppable Edson Barboza in a stunning upset. The UFC broke the news on Twitter tonight:
With Etim injured,
@Joelauzon will now face@jamievarner at@UFCONFOX
This still remains an intriguing match-up, and despite Joe Silva’s usual hesitancy to book fighters coming off of wins against fighters who lost their last fight, he obviously saw the potential here for an exciting lightweight scrap.
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