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Hey, my guys and ghouls! In this edition of the Injury Report, we discuss UFC fighter Aoriqileng needing a testicular ultrasound after UFC Vegas 86 this past Saturday. Plus, we get into one of my favorite categories, Bare Knuckle Bruisin’ after the most recent BYB Extreme Fighting Series event.
Ready? Enjoy!
UFCup
Aoriqileng (testicles)
Poor Aoriqileng. This past Saturday, we started the preliminary portion of UFC Vegas 86: Hermansson vs. Pyfer with Daniel Marcos vs. Aoriqileng. After a tough time with Marcos in the first round, things got even tougher for the ‘Mongolian Murderer’ who fell victim to a series of accidental fouls.
It started when Aoriqileng accidentally caught Marcos’ eye with a finger during an exchange. Referee Jason Herzog paused the action for Marcos, who needed a few seconds to recover, and we were off. That was until ’Soncora’ accidentally caught Aoriqileng in his nether regions with a kick. Herzog came in, paused the action, Aoriqileng needed a few seconds to recover, and again, we were off.
I kid you not; in the next 30 seconds or so, these two exchange low blows, but Aoriqileng got the worst of it because, after a full five minutes of trying to recover, he could not continue. Alex Behunin of MMA Mania reported that Aoriqileng was transported to a hospital for a testicular ultrasound (alongside a CT scan for his other potential injuries). His manager, Wang Le, provided Behunin with this update:
“He is ok. The structure of his testicles is okay, but the tubes around his testicles are swollen.”
Aorileng got the worst of it, indeed.
UFChanges
We have a UFC pay-per-view to get excited for, as UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria goes down this Saturday. That said, the official line-up for that PPV has recently undergone some changes due to injury.
Tresean Gore (shoulder)
Ahead of his fourth Octagon appearance, Tresean Gore was forced to withdraw from his upcoming fight against AJ Dobson. In an Instagram Story (H/T Nolan King of MMA Junkie), ‘Mr. Vicious’ could not get cleared due to ‘a labral tear, paralabral cyst, and likely Grade 2 AC joint separation’ in his shoulder.
Though Gore wanted to fight anyway, his coach did not want him to do so with an impairment.
“Gutted posting this, but the UFC didn’t clear me to fight,” posted Gore. “I initially was gonna fight anyway, but my Coach made me [get] a MRI because he didn’t want me fighting with one arm! Man I don’t understand why some things happen, but it’s all on God’s time not mine! I will be back and when the time is Right, I will be P4P. I can’t allow injury’s to kill my dream!”
Gore was hoping to add another UFC win to his resume after earning his first with a second-round sub of Josh Fremd at UFC Fight Night: Kattar vs. Allen.
Justin Tafa (unidentified)
I have to start with this: we are still getting Tafa vs. Marcos Rogerio de Lima at UFC 298 this Saturday. There is a twist, though.
As we waited for the official weigh-ins, it was reported that Justin Tafa was withdrawing from his fight against Marcos Rogerio de Lima due to an injury. An hour after the report, Marc Raimondi of ESPN revealed that the UFC was securing a short-notice replacement for Rogerio de Lima, and it was none other than a Tafa! Junior Tafa, that is.
Junior, the younger brother of Justin, came in (with five minutes left in the weigh-in window!), weighed 249 pounds, and secured his fight. No word yet on what injury Justin has, but hopefully he has a speedy recovery. Perhaps he could get rescheduled against Rogerio de Lima after his brother?
Bare Knuckle Bruisin’
We can always expect some gruesome goods from BYB Extreme Fighting Series, and they did not disappoint after BYB 24: Super Brawl Saturday.
Ike Villanueva (face)
Since leaving the UFC, Ike Villanueva found a new home with BYB. And now, he is a champion after defeating Dj Linderman via fourth-round finish!
Also, I want to give a special shoutout to one of our own, Blaine Henry. For the third episode of his Fight Finders Series, Blaine shadowed Villanueva for this fight. It is great watch!
Kendell Ward (face)
Kendell Ward suffered a “small” cut in his loss to Brandon Desrosier. Scroll to the third slide in that Instagram post so you can see it.
(Re) Face the Pain
Merab Dvalishvili (toe)
Nothing is going to stop Merab Dvalishvili! UFC fighter Matt Frevola shared a 2017 gem from his Merab vault, which contained this:
Ouch. Anyway, you can watch Dvalishvili in action this Saturday! He fights Henry Cejudo at UFC 298 on pay-per-view. Enjoy the festivities, friends!
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