Dustin Hazelett injured and unable to fight Ben Saunders at UFC 96

by MMAmania.com on Jan 22, 2009 8:41 PM EST

The rise of Brazilian jiu-jitsu welterweight specialist Dustin Hazelett to the top of the 170-pound contender ladder has been temporarily placed on hold because of an undisclosed injury suffered by "McLovin" during training, according to MMAWeekly.com.

Hazelett was expected to challenge The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) alum 6 Ben Saunders at UFC 96 from the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, on March 7 in front of a hometown crowd. And while it was never officially announced, it had piqued the interest of fans early as an intriguing match up between two up-and-comers in the crowded division.

The 22-year-old Hazelett was surging with two straight -- and very slick -- armbar submission victories over Tamdan McCrory and Josh Burkman, respectively. Saunders has been perfect (3-0) since his stint on the mixed martial arts reality series, defeating Ryan Thomas at UFC 87: "Seek and Destroy" in August and Dan Barrera via unanimous decision at TUF 6 Finale in 2008.

And, most recently, "Berserk" is coming off a lopsided first round ass-kicking of Brandon Wolff at UFC Night 16: "Fight For the Troops" just last month, channeling the Muay Thai skills of UFC Middleweight Champion to totally rout the Hawaiian in his Octagon debut.

It would have been a nice clash of styles, but for now we are forced to wait.

In the meantime, Octagon newcomer Ryan Madigan is expected to replace Hazelett against Saunders. "The Lion" has five professional fights in the sport that date back to 2006. He is undefeated, finishing all of his opponents early with a nice mix of (technical) knockouts and submissions.

He'll have his hands full trying to continue that streak against Big Ben when the pair collide in the "Buckeye State" on fight night.

UFC 96 features a three-round light heavyweight tilt between former division champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Keith Jardine. Heavyweight hopeful Shane Carwin is also expected to tangle with former number one contender Gabriel Gonzaga in the co-featured fight of the evening.

To check out the latest UFC 96 fight cards and rumors click here.

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Comments

They should put together Saunders vs. Swick now.
Unless they want to line up another tomato can like Goulet to get Mike another easy win.

by Tyler on Jan 22, 2009 8:43 PM EST reply actions

I wanna see him against Anthony Johnson.

by NameNotRequired on Jan 22, 2009 8:50 PM EST up reply actions

i wanna see him against anyone good… the 170 lb division really seems weak right now doesnt it?

by brendan on Jan 22, 2009 8:53 PM EST up reply actions

For sure. AKA guys have a clique so they refuse to fight. Then it’s alves, gsp. 2 great gatekeepers – lytle(maybe davis now) and karo. Prospects are far and few – AJ, Saunders, DHK can still be but yoshida is out. Then it tanks to your james giboos and kevin burnses. Hughes-serra is more of a curiousity than anything now as both can’t compete anymore at high levels.

by NameNotRequired on Jan 22, 2009 9:53 PM EST up reply actions

Come on man, you forgot Matt hughes and Matt serra

by Liddell-Marquardt-GSP-Sherk on Jan 22, 2009 10:32 PM EST up reply actions

That’s UFC 98…

by Joe Piervincenti on Jan 22, 2009 11:39 PM EST up reply actions

THis is just a stupid replacement. What the UFC should have done was replace McLovin with the Barncatt.

The Barncat was booked to fight aroundt he same time and his opponent got hurt and had to pull out of the fight.

Why not just make it Sanders vs. BarnCatt?

by john on Jan 23, 2009 8:38 AM EST up reply actions

THIS BLOWS!!!!!!!!!!!!

That was in my Top 3 of fights that are booked that I want to see most. Very dissapointed. And I agree that Barcat would have been MORE than a suitable opponent – in fact, a PERFECT opponent for Ben. Barncat has more UFC fights than Ben and probably has more UFC wins as well. After that alien head Ben fought last time, Barncat would be a HUGE step up in competition. BUT, intead they will give him another inferrior opponent.

Someone mentioned Swick as an opponent. I have not been a fan of Swick since he dropped to WW, but I would still have to admit that he is WAAAAY ahead of Ben in the WW division and it would really be a lose/lose situation for Swick.

by ViolentMike on Jan 23, 2009 10:02 AM EST up reply actions

THe Barncatt was scheduled to fight GOulet at UFC 97….Goulet had to pull out, so why not Have the Barncat step up, fight 1 event earlier against Ben Saunders? THat would be an awesome match up!

by john on Jan 23, 2009 11:22 AM EST up reply actions

I was actually looking forward to that fight. Swick would be a step down for Saunders compared to who he was going to face.

by Psyqo78!!!!!!!!!!!!!®™ on Jan 22, 2009 8:53 PM EST up reply actions

lol I just posted this like 15 minutes ago.

by Synyster [[2009 Year of Gegard Mousasi]] on Jan 22, 2009 8:44 PM EST reply actions

I know and I read it then. I’m really bummed about this. I was looking forward to this fight so much. I like both Hazelett and Saunders a lot and was looking forward to seeing them fight. I think they chose a terrible replacement thought. There are so many better replacements. How about scraping the Anthony Johnson vs Luigi Fioravanti fight and give Saunders Anthony Johnson. May be you could scrap the Koscheck vs Paulo Thiago fight and pit Kos vs Saunders. How about Swick? Even Dan Hardy who is comming off a win against Gono would be a good fight. I think they blew it with this match up.

by DB on Jan 22, 2009 9:23 PM EST up reply actions

I agree this is really disappointing. Hazelett vs. Saunders was a really exciting matchup, and I think the UFC could have done much better with a replacement. I think Anthony Johnson should have been the logical choice since they’re both coming off impressive wins and a win by either would make them a legitimate contender. I don’t consider Fioravanti a legitimate test to Johnson, and I wouldn’t mind their fight being cancelled at all.

by GregC on Jan 22, 2009 10:45 PM EST up reply actions