UFC Fight Night 79 Updates: Jorge Masvidal in Fight Card Main Event as a Replacement for the Injured Thiago Alves
There is certainly good reason for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) to be concerned about the growing number of its fighters getting injured. What's even worse is when they have up-and-coming fights, only to pull out at the last minute because of different injuries suffered during training. The newest casualty is Thiago Alves, who was forced to pull out of Fight Night 79 due to a broken rib.
The very first card for the UFC to be held in South Korea was supposed to be headlined by the matchup of Alves against former champ Benson Henderson in the welterweight division, but with the injury, Alves will be replaced by Jorge Masvidal.
Masvidal (29-9) was originally scheduled to fight Dong Hyun Kim in the same card for the co-main event, but the latest development means that the Korean fighter will have to wait for the promotion to find an opponent.
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There is also an interesting link between Henderson (22-5) and Masvidal because both fighters were actually scheduled to fight each other for UFC Fight Night 63. However, Henderson was pulled on the last minute because the promotion decided to pit him against Brandon Thatch, a fight he won by submission.
Masvidal hasn't really proven anything yet, at least in the 170-pound division, but his debut fight was rather impressive, defeating Cezar Ferreira via first round knockout last year during the Ultimate Fighter 21 finale. While he is currently ranked 15th in the UFC lightweight rankings, this bout against Henderson is going to be fought at welterweight.
Henderson himself is a former lightweight campaigner and champion, who incidentally is also looking at winning his second stint in the division.
It is still unclear how Kim's fate will be handled by the UFC especially that the fight is barely two weeks from now. It also does not make sense if he doesn't make the card because he's the only local fighter currently slated to fight.
