Un-caged: Injuries force fight postponements, new match-ups already in place

News that Frankie Edgar Vs Gray Maynard III has been put back indefinitely comes as a major disappointment to all fight fans as the final match of the trilogy was just weeks away.

IT ISN’T ONLY the action inside that Octagon that is fast-moving and unpredictable.

The announcement of exciting new match-ups as well as some disappointing injury-enforced cancellations just goes to show why this sport is so exhilarating.

The news that Frankie Edgar Vs Gray Maynard III has been put back indefinitely comes as a major disappointment to all fight fans as the final match of the trilogy was just weeks away.

Both fighters picked up injuries in the past seven days which forced the UFC to announce the bout was off and Quinton Jackson Vs Matt Hamill has been bumped up to main event billing.

Maynard won a decision over Edgar first time out before both fighters played out a draw at UFC 125 last January, controversially allowing Edgar to hold on to his lightweight championship belt. Edgar wasn’t happy retaining his belt in those circumstances and sportingly offered a rematch.

Their second fight saw one of the greatest-ever comebacks in UFC history as Edgar was out on his feet in the first before surviving the round and even managed to get stronger as the bout went on.

Here is that famous first round again. The round starts at 2:47 and it all kicks off at 4:02.

To help fans get over the disappointment of the Edgar Vs Maynard being called off, the UFC have confirmed that Anderson Silva will face Yushin Okami at UFC 134 in Rio de Janeiro this August.

The two have faced off before in 2006 in a match that saw “The Spider” disqualified for an illegal up-kick from his back that nearly knocked Okami out. That was the last time Anderson tasted defeat and Okami is carrying some momentum into the fight having claimed wins over Lucio Linhares, Mark Munoz and Nate Marquardt on his way to his shot at the UFC middleweight champ.

Some fights to look forward to over the next few months

Dan “The Outlaw” Hardy is all but confirmed to fight Chris “Lights Out” Lytle at the UFC on Versus 5 event in August. Hardy could be fighting for his UFC career as he looks to bounce back from 3 straight defeats while Lytle will be looking to forget his unanimous decision defeat to Brian Ebersole last time out.

Another exciting fight added to the same card is Jim Miller and Ben Henderson. Both were in action recently as Miller took his win streak to 7 as he knocked out Kamal Shalorus at UFC 128 while for WEC lightweight champ defeated the tough Mark Bocek via unanimous decision at UFC 129.

Meanwhile at Strikeforce the fight between Fedor and Dan Henderson now looks a certainty to happen and rumours are abound that the contracts will be signed in the next couple of days. It has been pencilled in for 30 July most likely to be at 220lbs, the first time Fedor has fought outside the heavyweight division.