...OH, ONE MORE THING - PLEASE BOOKMARK US & VISIT DAILY!
By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
A fight between Chael Sonnen and Mauricio "Shogun" Rua may happen, but it's not going to come at UFC 161. "Shogun" revealed on Twitter Monday night that Sonnen could not make it into the country for the fight, and that he'd been taken off the card entirely.
The UFC later confirmed that he was off the card, and UFC 161 will move forward with eleven fights.
There's not been a clear reason given as to why the fight couldn't come together for 161, but Tatame's Guilherme Cruz stated on Twitter it was due to visa issues for Sonnen.
Chael Sonnen not fighting Shogun Rua at UFC 161 due to visa issues, I'm told
He added in a translated and transcribed statement from Shogun on the matter as well:
"I'm very sad that I won’t be able to fight at June 15," Shogun said. "I got so much ready for this with my team of coaches. I was crazy to fight. I had already changed my strategy, I was ready to get in action, but the UFC told my manager that Sonnen had problems to get a visa to fly to Canada. That’s why they cancelled the fight, and that's a shame. I'll have to wait a little longer to fight again, but my will is only getting bigger. UFC asked me to keep training, that I would fight on August 17, at Boston. I'd like to thank the support of my fans, they always gave me strength to train harder and fight”
To add another wrinkle to the proceedings, Bleacher Report's Jeremy Botter stated on Twitter that the fight was never fully agreed upon for UFC 161 in the first place, and that Sonnen was looking to fight Shogun in August instead.
@sbnlukethomas @guicruzzz From what I understand, Chael wanted August and never committed to 161 at all.
Regardless, the end result is UFC 161 has been decimated, and it heads to pay-per-view without a title fight after Renan Barao's injury, and without it's co-headliner as well. The fight might happen this August, though, as Cruz stated that it was possible for the Fox Sports 1 event in Boston.
Update: Shogun-Sonnen will probably be moved to UFC on FoxSports 1 #1 card, on August 17
Penick's Analysis: This is really unfortunate news for the fans in Winnipeg, and regardless of why the fight isn't happening, the fact that Shogun's been pulled from the card entirely really hurts. This would have been a very good replacement on two weeks notice, and though it could come together again for August it wouldn't necessarily make as much sense. If Antonio Rogerio Nogueira can go on August 3, it would make more sense to re-book the rematch in Rio at UFC 163; but Shogun added that he's returning at Fox Sports 1, so Sonnen-Shogun might yet come to pass.
[Mauricio "Shogun" Rua art by Grant Gould (c) MMATorch.com]
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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