Surging UFC light heavyweight contender Ilir Latifi has been removed from his co-main event clash with former UFC title challenger Glover Teixeira at UFC Fight Night 134 on July 22 from inside Barclaycard Arena in Hamburg, Germany, due to an undisclosed injury.
ESPN was first to report the fallout.
This is awful news for a UFC Hamburg fight card that recently lost its main event after the promotion yanked Volkan Oezdemir from his clash with Mauricio Rua in favor of a UFC 227 throwdown with divisional favorite Alexander Gustafsson. Anthony Smith has since stepped in to fight “Shogun” in the headliner.
Latifi, 34, was hoping to launch himself into consideration for a title shot with a big win over Teixeira, who fought for the UFC 205-pound title back in 2014. Latifi is coming off back-to-back victories over Ovince Saint Preux and Tyson Pedro, and has compiled a 7-3 divisional record since making his Octagon debut over five years ago.
As of now, no replacement has been named for “Sledgehammer.”
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