Joe Stevenson injuried, wont fight Gomi
Following a recent setback to rising prospect Evan Dunham, UFC lightweight Tyson Griffin (14-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) has replaced Joe Stevenson and faces Takanori Gomi (31-6 MMA, 0-1 UFC) at UFC on Versus 2.
Stevenson recently injured his knee in training and was forced to withdraw from the bout. Veteran MMA reporter Dave Meltzer first reported the change, and MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) subsequently confirmed the news with sources close to the event.
UFC on Versus 2 takes place on Aug. 1 at the San Diego Sports Arena in California.
The night's main card, including Griffin vs. Gomi, airs on Versus.
UFC officials have not formally announced the change.
Griffin, 26, took on Dunham earlier this month at UFC 115 and lost a split decision when he was out-grappled in the latter half of the three-round bout. Despite the recent slide, Griffin long has been considered one of the top competitors in the 155-pound division. In 10 UFC performances, he has won five "Fight of the Night" bonuses and one "Submission of the Night" award for his high-paced fighting style.
The Xtreme Couture fighter handed Hermes Franca the first knockout loss of his career in his most recent victory, which came at UFC 103.
The 31-year-old Gomi is also on the rebound. Kenny Florian soundly outboxed Gomi en route to a third-round submission win at UFC on Versus 1 in March.
Once considered to be the best lightweight fighter in the world, Gomi went undefeated in the first four years of his professional career and won the PRIDE lightweight championship in December 2005 with a knockout of Hayato Sakurai. But the fighter struggled in the wake of PRIDE's collapse in March 2007, and with a 4-2 post-PRIDE record, he appears to have lost much of the fire that characterized his early performances
