UFC on FOX 5 medical suspensions and injuries: BJ Penn and Nate Diaz suspended indefinitely

The Washington State Department of Licensing today (Dec. 12, 2012) handed down its list of medical suspensions and injuries for those fighters competing at the UFC on FOX 5: "Henderson vs. Diaz" event, which was held last Saturday night (Dec. 8) at the KeyArena in Seattle.

No surprises here.

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight champion B.J. Penn will be riding the pine indefinitely -- or at least until he can get a physician to clear him to resume combat -- following a three round beatdown at the hands of Rory MacDonald.

That's not all.

Ex-UFC lightweight number one contender Nate Diaz will also be taking a mandatory vacation -- indefinitely -- thanks to his FUBAR face following five rounds of punishment from reigning division kingpin Ben Henderson. Like "The Prodigy," Diaz is only on the sidelines for as long as it takes his doctor to release him.

Below are the full medical suspensions and injuries for UFC on FOX 5 (via The Underground):

The following fighters received mandatory seven-day suspensions for precautionary reasons:

Scott Jorgensen
John Albert
Dennis Siver
Abel Trujillo
Daron Cruickshank
Mike Easton
Matt Brown
Rory MacDonald
Ben Henderson

And the rest:

Nam Phan: 30 days no contact. Suspended indefinitely pending physician clearance (head CT scan).

Marcus LeVesseur: Suspended 30 days for precautionary reasons.

Henry Martinez: Suspended indefinitely pending physician clearance (scalp laceration, left orbital CT scan and chest X-ray).

Ramsey Nijem: Suspended indefinitely pending physician clearance (left knee).

Joe Proctor: Suspended indefinitely pending physician/ENT clearance (facial fracture).

Raphael Assuncao: Suspended indefinitely pending physician clearance (right ulnar fracture).

Yves Edwards: Suspended 30 days for precautionary reasons (21 days no contact).

Jeremy Stephens: Suspended indefinitely pending physician clearance (head CT scan).

Mike Swick: Suspended 60 days for precautionary reasons.

B.J. Penn: Suspended indefinitely pending physician clearance (facial X-ray). Minimum suspension 45 days (30 days no contact).

Mauricio Rua: Suspended 30 days for precautionary reasons.

Alexander Gustafsson: Suspended indefinitely pending physician clearance (right ankle X-ray).

Nate Diaz: Suspended indefinitely pending physician clearance (facial X-ray). Minimum suspension 45 days (30 days no contact).

Just a quick reminder: Fighters often return to action much sooner once doctors give them the green light. The lengthy suspensions are just a precaution in most cases.

For complete UFC on FOX 5 results and blow-by-blow coverage of the main card action click here.