Bao Quach suffered a fractured orbital bone in training that has forced him to withdraw from his Elite XC featherweight title fight against Wilson Reis at Sho XC 8 at the Chumash Casino in Santa Ynez, Calif., on September 26.
King of the Cage Flyweight Champion Abel Cullum (11-1) has been named as the replacement for the first-ever division title bout.
Cullum is not only the King of the Cage champ, but he also holds titles in several smaller organizations where he is the five-time Desert Extreme Bantamweight Champion and two-time Southwest Fury Champion.
He brings a 10 fight win streak into this match. In fact, he has not lost a professional fight since the second of his career against Richard Montano in December of 2005.
Reis is an obvious step up in competition even in spite of his perceived lack of experience.The Brazilian is a jiu jitsu stud, going undefeated (3-0) under the Elite XC banner, including his most recent unanimous decision victory over a very game Bryan Caraway at "Unfinished Business" in July.
Reis will have a size advantage and will more than likely be the favorite heading into this contest, but that doesn't mean Cullum should be counted out. He has a strong wrestling base and has displayed solid submission defense and a very aggressive striking game in his recent fights.
He'll need to do more of the same to score a win against the undefeated Brazilian.
This is still a solid main event for a Sho XC Challenger Series event and will mark the first time a title fight will be featured as the main event for the Showtime series.
Heavyweight prospect and former Syracuse Orange linebacker Jon Murphy was also expected to be in action on September 26, but he too was forced off the card for an unknown reason. His expected opponent -- Shane Del Rosario -- is still awaiting word on the replacement.