Gegard Mousasi wasn't too pleased with the fact that he had to rely on social media to discover that his scheduled fight against Ronaldo Souza at UFC 176, which was set to go down on Aug. 2, 2014, was "postponed" due to the cancellation of UFC 176.
"The Dreamcatcher" took to his Twitter account to let Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) know he wasn't pleased with the handling of the announcements, in a subtle, yet direct way.
"It's always nice to hear your fight has been canceled through social media good job ufc"
A tweet that has since been removed.
But according to Gegard's manager, Nima Safapour, an honest miscommunication was to blame, as he informed MMA Fighting that UFC officials had indeed let him know that his client's fight had been scratched. Unfortunately, Gegard was in Holland at the time, which means Nima's contact was delayed due to the time difference.
He explains:
"Zuffa reached out to us in advance shortly before the media became aware that the event was postponed. However, due to the time zone differences between Holland and Vegas, combined with how quickly the news hit the media, there was an honest miscommunication between the parties."
He continues:
"Any fighter is going to feel frustrated that an event has been canceled because a lot goes into these fights on a lot of different levels. Especially when one is competing at an elite level within the top five world rankings. We are working on it with Zuffa, and believe we will have everything resolved shortly. We understand it is a challenging situation for everyone."
In the end, everything was in fact resolved, as Mousasi's fight against "Jacare" has been moved to UFC Fight Night 50, which will go down at the Foxwoods Resort & Casino in Ledyard, Connecticut, on Sept., 5, 2014 (see the full fight card here).
Things may have actually worked out better for Gegard, as his rematch against Souza will now be the main event for the FOX Sports 1 event, whereas it would have been the co-main event at UFC 176, with Jose Aldo vs. Chad Mendes serving as the featured bout.
And according to one prominent mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter, headlining an event on FOX Sports 1 trumps being on pay-per-view (PPV), as a free event will bring in more eyeballs and more exposure to the fight.