Matt Brown vs Ryan Thomas UFC 91 fight in the works with Matt Riddle injured

by MMAmania.com on Nov 3, 2008 9:10 AM EST

Matt Brown will step up on short notice and replace the injured Matt Riddle against Ryan Thomas at UFC 91: "Couture vs. Lesnar" at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on November 15, according to WrestlingObserver.com.

Riddle -- The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 7 cast clown -- reportedly suffered a serious knee injury while training for the welterweight bout and there is no timetable for his return to action at this time.

Brown also competed on TUF 7 before being eliminated from the show by eventual tournament winner Amir Sadollah via triangle choke in the semifinals. He bounced back to defeat Matt Arroyo via technical knockout at the TUF 7 Finale in June.

The taste of victory inside the Octagon, however, did not last long -- Brown dropped a close split decision to undefeated Korean import, Dong Hyun "Stun Gun" Kim at UFC 88: "Breakthrough" in Atlanta, Ga., on September 6,

It marked his fourth loss in his six most recent fights.

Thomas is no stranger to last minute opponent switches -- he stepped up on short notice (12 days) to replace an injured Jared Rollins at UFC 87: "Seek and Destroy" in August to fight Ben Saunders.

He lost that fight via second round submission (armbar), spoiling his debut for the promotion.

Thomas is a 23-year-old part-time student at Eastern Illinois University who, prior to taking the Saunders fight, fought 14 times in 20 months.

To check out the latest UFC 91 fight card and rumors click here. And to purchase tickets for "Couture vs. Lesnar" click here.

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I hope Matt’s conditioning is good for this fight. If so he should win.

by "Mr. NC-17" on Nov 3, 2008 9:13 AM EST reply actions

Yeah, Brown has a bright future. He fought his ass off against Stun Gun. lIke you said, if his conditioning is up to par, he should win this fight

by john on Nov 3, 2008 9:28 AM EST up reply actions

He SHOULD. Ryan THomas is nothing and shouldn’t be in the UFC. They were having the young, inexperienced Matt Riddle fight him so Riddle can get an easy win under his belt. They don’t want Riddle losing fights this early, or he’ll never make it in the UFC. The UFC loves his personality so they are going to bring him along very slowly, as they should.

Matt Brown has a lot more experience, but too bad for him, nearly half his experience has been on the losing ends of fights…

by ViolentMike on Nov 3, 2008 9:48 AM EST up reply actions

Why do you say that? You know nothing about Ryan Thomas. He’ll prove you wrong. He took the Ben Saunders fight on 12 days notice,had to drop 26 pounds,and spent half of that time running around getting medically certified.

by Big Ern on Nov 4, 2008 11:15 AM EST up reply actions

ridle is a stupid punk and should be let go from the ufc..
hate riddle

by mikeybear on Nov 3, 2008 10:59 AM EST up reply actions

REALLY? What do you have against Riddle?

I love his enthusiasm and willingness to learn the sport of MMA

by ViolentMike on Nov 3, 2008 12:00 PM EST up reply actions

agreed! Riddle has a bright future in the sport. He is very young and he has a good attitude. I really feel that he is strong mentally and has a perfect head for the fight game. He likes to fight and enjoys it….that tells me he has a future!

by john on Nov 3, 2008 1:56 PM EST up reply actions

go Matt.

by sinister on Nov 3, 2008 9:27 AM EST reply actions

I hope they can bump up the Hazelett fight to the main card. But i wont get to see this live anyway, so i wont worry about it.

by sinister on Nov 3, 2008 9:29 AM EST reply actions

I read an interview with Luis “Banha” Cane and he said that although nothing is official, his guess for his next opponent is Keith Jardine. Cane then went on to say that He will never pick his opponents, so its really all up to Joe Silva!

by john on Nov 3, 2008 9:29 AM EST reply actions

that would be a good one… then Anderson can fight Chuck

by 1-0 via Arm Triangle on Nov 3, 2008 11:33 AM EST up reply actions

Doesnt look like Chuck is going to fight Anderson. UFC is over protective of Chuck and Chuck cant afford any losses right now. Chuck and Anderson wont fight, at least not right now….Its unfortunate but the UFC cant risk totally demoloshing its poster boy. Its a shame because its a fight that fans want to see.

by john on Nov 3, 2008 1:58 PM EST up reply actions