Junyong Park not medically cleared, Alex Pereira brought to tears & Francis Ngannou ‘back in camp’
By Amy Kaplan
I'll be breaking down the news from around the combat sports world and giving you my take on it in this new daily column. Check back every morning to see the biggest or most obscure headlines and what I think about them below.
Junyong Park not medically cleared to fight at UFC Vegas 94
Junyong Park weighed in on weight for his UFC Vegas 94 fight versus Brad Tavares but was not cleared by the commission to compete and that fight has been scrapped.
I'm super bummed we are out this fight because frankly there's not a lot of great fights schedudled for the event. Park vs. Tavares was one of those fights that could have been a real banger. We hope they rebook the fight soon. Check out the updated fight card now that it's off.
UFC Vegas 94 fight card
- Amanda Lemos vs. Virna Jandiroba
- Seungwoo Choi vs. Steve Garcia
- Kurt Holobaugh vs. Kaynan Kruschewsky
- Cody Durden vs. Bruno Silva
- Bill Algeo vs. Dooho Choi
- Hyder Amil vs. Jeong Yeong Lee
- Cody Gibson vs. Brian Kelleher
- Dione Barbosa vs. Miranda Maverick
- Trey Ogden vs. Loik Radzhabov
- Luana Carolina vs. Lucie Pudilova
- Thomas Petersen vs. Mohammed Usman
Alex Pereira brought to tears after special request was made
UFC light heavyweight champion and stone-faced machine Alex Pereira was brought to tears when a teenager with cancer asked him to shave his head. Watch the moving moment above.
Man, I am crying too. Pereira has always been a personal favorite of mine and moments like this really signify why. Seeing someone who is normally so stoic and strong breaking down is really something incredible. This is going to be a moment that both the kid and Pereira remember for the rest of their lives.
Francis Ngannou ‘back in camp’ for PFL debut
Ray Sefo has announced that Francis Ngannou has been in camp for about three weeks preparing for his PFL debut. “Francis has been back in camp for the last three weeks in Vegas because he trains with us at Xtreme Couture,” PFL President of Fighter Operations, Ray Sefo, told Kevin Iole. “That’s in the works and I think we’re just in the midst of trying to finalize exactly where it’s going to be, when the date is, and what kind of timeframe it’s going to take for both athletes to be ready, and we’ll go from there.”
I will believe it when I see it. Ngannou is back in camp, he said so himself, but I highly doubt it's for a PFL fight. Ngannou already said he intends to box again. I think PFL needs to wait until they have something concrete to share because frankly, it's wolf tickets otherwise.