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UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre has been forced out of his upcoming title fight against Carlos Condit at UFC 137, which was scheduled for the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Oct. 29, 2011.
Yesterday it was revealed that a knee injury sustained in training over the weekend was the cause for the last-minute scratch, as "Rush" sprained his medial collateral ligament and put on the shelf for four to six weeks.
As a result, the Canadian sensation won't see the inside of a cage until "the first quarter of 2012."
Bad (and sad) news that apparently did not sit well with St. Pierre, who today told SportsNet.ca that he was reduced to tears:
"I knew [the injury] was bad but I thought I had the chance to be 100 percent the night of the fight if I trained light and conserved myself. But the reality was I was not able to recover (fast enough). I want to fight my best when I'm at my best.... I'm not going to lie, I cried yesterday. I had a ton of pressure falling off my shoulders, because for the last few days I was in the mindset that I was nervous for the fight. I was excited for the fight but I was also nervous to know if I was going to be able to fight."
St. Pierre went on to say that "he had been through a lot" during the training camp and that in addition to rehabbing his knee, he planned to take a litte vacation before doing it all over again. He hopes to be ready in time for the traditional SuperBowl weekend show in "Sin City" at the beginning of Feb. 2012.
On the other hand, his opponent, Carlos Condit, is still next in line to attempt to dethrone the 170-pound deity. However, the former World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) champion has opted to ride the pine until GSP is all patched up and ready to go.
In the meantime, the welterweight fight between B.J. Penn and Nick Diaz has been promoted and will serve as the new UFC 137 headliner while the titanic tilt of Cheick Kongo vs. Matt Mitrione will take over as co-main event.
Brad Tavares vs. Dustin Jacoby will also enjoy a new spot on the Oct. 29 pay-per-view fight card, leaving the Facebook prelims and taking over the empty slot left by Kongo vs. Mitrione.
There's been a lot of changes to the UFC 137 fight card in the last 24 hours. Find out what they are right here. Also remember to tune in to Sportsnet Connected Wednesday night to watch the exclusive interview with Georges St. Pierre.
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