A light-heavyweight bout between Kyle Kingsbury (7-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) and Razak Al-Hassan (6-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC), originally targeted for UFC 102 in August, will instead take place in October at UFC 104. A source close to the fighters today told MMAjunkie verbal agreements are in place and the fight could be signed as early as this week.
UFC 104 takes place Oct. 24 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The night’s main card airs on pay-per-view, and the Kingsbury vs. Al-Hassan fight is expected to take place on the night’s un-aired preliminary card. It’s a must-win fight for both competitors, whose initial fight date was postponed because of Al-Hassan’s injured elbow. Rather than take another fight, Kingsbury decided to wait for his opponent to heal.
Kingsbury, a replacement fighter who was eliminated from “The Ultimate Fighter 8″ by eventual show winner Ryan Bader, returned at the show’s live finale in December. He suffered a unanimous-decision loss to Tom Lawlor at the event but wasn’t cut from the organization’s roster of fighters.
Al-Hassan, meanwhile, suffered a dislocated elbow when he refused to tap to Steve Cantwell’s armbar attempt at UFC Fight Night 16. The December bout marked the Midwesterner’s debut in the organization and resulted in his first loss in seven professional fights. Although UFC 104 has not been officially announced by the organization, UFC President Dana White confirmed the fight date during a UFC 98 press conference.
There is also news that UFC 104 features a main event between recently crowned UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida and challenger Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.
On the other hand Youngstown, Ohio hosts WEC 43 on September 2. As company executives hinted earlier this year, World Extreme Cagefighting will, in fact, make its Ohio debut in 2009. WEC General Manager Reed Harris today told MMAjunkie that WEC 43 is set for Wednesday, September 2, at the 6,000-seat Covelli Centre in Youngstown.
However, despite recent reports, injured champion Jamie Varner will not be stripped of his WEC lightweight title, and WEC 43 headliners and top contenders Donald Cerrone (10-1) and Benson Henderson (9-1) will instead fight for an interim lightweight belt, Harris said. A number of reports, citing a Youngstown Vindicator story, stated Varner would be stripped of his belt and that it would then be contested by Cerrone and Henderson. However, Harris said that won’t be the case.
Harris said his comments were taken a bit out of context and that Varner will be stripped of the belt only if his injuries prevent him from returning to the cage – something that won’t be known for quite some time. In a January title defense over Cerrone (one that ended via technical split decision), Varner broke his hand and foot before an illegal knee in the fifth round brought an end to the bout. Although hopeful he could return for WEC 43 to fight Cerrone again, Varner has publicly stated that his hand did not heal correctly and that it’ll keep him sidelined through the summer.
“Jamie is not stripped of the title,” Harris said. “We’re all hoping Jamie can come back later this year and defend his title against whoever wins the interim title. We just couldn’t put the division on hold. We had to move it forward. … Donald and Benson were elated.”
Although the Ohio State Athletic Commission regulates more MMA events than any other state commission, including Nevada and California, the WEC has never previously ventured to the Buckeye State. However, company executives told MMAjunkie in April that the state’s strong TV ratings and solid fanbase would likely mean a future event in Ohio.
