It looks like Charles Oliveira will end 2013 with just 1 fight and no wins. The 23-year-old featherweight was scheduled to face Jeremy Larsen on the evening’s Facebook preliminary card, but according to MMA Fighting, Oliveira was forced to pull out of the event after straining a muscle in his thigh. Here’s a quote from Ericson Cardozo, Oliveira’s head trainer:
“He strained his muscle in the thigh and won’t be able to walk for three or four weeks,” Cardozo told MMAFighting.com on Friday. “It’s likely that he won’t be able to fight again this year, unfortunately.”
You’d have to go back to June 2012 to find Oliveira’s (16-4, 1 NC) last win in the UFC, a 2nd round submission of TUF 12 winner Jonathan Brookins. His only win over a current UFC fighter was his debut against Darren Elkins (contested at lightweight) back in 2010. The Brazilian lost a decision at UFC 162 against Frankie Edgar but did pick up FOTN honors.
Larsen (8-4, 1 NC) is still searching for his first UFC win after stoppage losses to Joe Proctor and Lucas Martins, and it’s unlikely that they’ll find a replacement opponent inside of two weeks. He lost his original opponent Matt Grice to a serious car accident (which Grice is slowly recovering from) before agreeing to face Oliveira, whose own opponent (Estevan Payan) was hurt and off the card.
UFC 166 is headlined by a heavyweight trilogy bout between champion Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos, with the winner not only keeping the UFC belt but taking the series lead after splitting the first two fights.
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