A back injury has forced Ultimate Fighter 15 winner Michael Chiesa to pull out of his UFC Fight Night 91 main event bout against Tony Ferguson and the UFC is currently seeking a new opponent for Ferguson for the July 13 fight card.
The announcement of Chiesa being out of the event was revealed on Monday afternoon and Chiesa explained on social media that a back injury caused him to pull out of the fight.
To my family, friends and fans,
As reported below, a back injury has forced me out of my scheduled fight for July 13th against Tony Ferguson. During a routine training session, I felt a pop and shift in my lower back followed by very very sharp pains that left me on the floor. I found out today I have a fully ruptured disk, I will undergo 8 weeks of physical therapy and rehab to hopefully avoid having to go under the knife and get back surgery. Thanks to everyone that supports me, my teammates and coaches, the city of Spokane and all my fans around the world. I’ll be back stronger.
-Mav
UFC Fight Night 91 will come from the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and the current fight card is below.
Tony Ferguson (20-3) vs. TBD
Michael McDonald (17-3) vs. John Lineker (27-7)
Tim Boetsch (18-10) vs. Josh Samman (12-3)
Alexey Oliynyk (50-9-1) vs. Daniel Omielanczuk (18-5-1, 1NC)
Louis Smolka (10-1) vs. Ben Nguyen (14-5)
Ryan Hall (5-1) vs. Alex White (11-2)
Kyle Noke (22-8-1) vs. Keita Nakamura (31-7-2, 1NC)
Devin Clark (6-0) vs. Alex Nicholson (6-2)
Rani Yahya (21-8, 1NC) vs. Matthew Lopez (8-0)
Scott Holtzman (8-1) vs. Cody Pfister (12-5-1)
Cortney Casey (4-3) vs. Cristina Stanciu (5-1)
Eric Spicely (8-0) vs. Sam Alvey (26-8, 1NC)