An "H-Bomb" has been delivered to the gut of the UFC.
That's what happened earlier today, after rumors swirled on twitter, it was announced that Dan Henderson was out of the main event of UFC 151. With UFC Light Heavyweight champion Jon Jones refusing to fight Chael Sonnen on eight day's notice and no major support on the preliminary card worthy of taking the mantle, the promotion was forced to cancel a pay-per-view event for the first time in its nearly 20-year history.
Obviously Dana White was not pleased, calling Jones and his coach Greg Jackson "sport killers" during a special announcement conference call just over an hour ago.
Jones will now fight Lyoto Machida in the new main event of UFC 151 (formerly UFC 152) on September 22 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
The 41 year old Henderson took to Facebook to release an official statement about what all went down earlier today and what went into his decision on pulling out of the fight. We've got it posted after the jump.
"Sadly and unfortunately, I partially tore a ligament in my knee in training. As a result I've had to make one of the toughest decisions that I have ever had to make...for the first time in my career I am forced to pull out of a fight, my fight with Jon Jones at UFC 151. Luckily, surgery is not needed at this time and I will be completely devoted to rehabing my knee as quickly as possible. I feel that I owe it to my fans and all the people supporting me to fight at my full potential in order to give myself a chance to win the UFC title. I appreciate the loyal support that I have felt from my fans. I want to thank all of my coaches and team of guys for the great support with my training camp. Most importantly, I appreciate their honesty when I needed them the most to make this very difficult decision. I also want to thank Dana and Lorenzo for being so understanding and supportive. I will continue to pursue the UFC belt with all of my heart!"
So where does this leave Henderson, Maniacs?
He says he doesn't need surgery so do you think he'll be healthy enough to face the winner of Jones vs. Machida without any more major delays? What's your take on this entire ordeal?
Sound off!