UFC 152: Rory MacDonald cut forces him out of BJ Penn fight

Shortly after the UFC on Fox 4: "Shogun vs. Vera" post-fight press conference, UFC President Dana White held his usual scrum to field questions on any and all issues currently on the media's mind. On a rare occasion, he drops some big news and tonight was one such night.

White's announcement, according to a tweet from Ariel Helwani, was that Rory MacDonald has suffered "a huge cut on his forehead" and been forced to pull out of his scheduled fight against B.J. Penn at UFC 152 on Sept. 22, 2012, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

I'm assuming it's one badass cut if it's cancelling a bout that is still a month and a half away from taking place. Of course, such a thing affects training and preparation and what not.

This means the highly publicized war for VADA drug testing between the two is now all for naught. Penn, perhaps prophetically, called this, inferring in a recent video blog that he was glad they were third down on the card because in the event that something happened, they wouldn't cause too much of a ripple.

Now, the flyweight tournament final bout pitting Joseph Benavidez vs. Demetrious Johnson, as well as Michael Bisping vs. Brian Stann in a possible middleweight title eliminator, are left to carry the card. The loss of a big name like "The Prodigy" would surely hurt.

A search for a replacement is said to be underway at this time, however. You Maniacs got any bright ideas? Care to share?