In possibly the least surprising news of the year UFC lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov is hurt. According to reports, Nurmagomedov has been forced to pull out of his forthcoming Ultimate Fighter 22 Finale co-headlining bout against Tony Ferguson because of a rib injury. As of now, nothing is set in stone, although there are discussions of Edson Barboza stepping in to replace him. This makes it the third straight fight Nurmagomedov hasn’t managed to see completion. It started with a planned UFC 178 battle against Donald Cerrone that”The Eagle” was forced out of after a knee injury. When the bout was rescheduled for UFC 187 he reaggravated the exact same knee and he’s from the December fight. Nurmagomedov has not fought since a unanimous decision victory over now-UFC Lightweight Champion Rafael Dos Anjos. Depending on the length of time it takes for him to recover from this rib setback, he could be on a two-year break until he sees the Octagon again. Ross Pearson vs. Francisco Trinaldo — UFC Fight Night 81 While one UFC bout was cancelled, another was announced as recent winners Ross Pearson and Francisco Trinaldo have been supposed to throw down in Boston this upcoming January. Pearson was successful in his last bout over Paul Felder via unanimous decision despite being a heavy underdog. Trinaldo did exactly the same thing, winning as a dog this August via round TKO over Chad Laprise. Trinaldo has more momentum, although this is a pretty evenly matched fight. The Brazilian has won four consecutive spells and is coming from the best success of his career while Pearson has been unable to string any wins together in his last eight fights. Even though Pearson has more name recognition, it wouldn’t shock me to see Trinaldo open as the little betting favorite this time around because of his recent series of success.

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