MMA ODDS AND ENDS FOR SATURDAY: DANIEL CORMIER OUT OF UFC 197 WITH INJURY

Report: Daniel Cormier out of UFC 197 fight with Jon Jones Initially reported by BJPenn.com, UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Daniel Cormier is injured and will probably be forced to pull out of his upcoming UFC 197 main event title defense against Jon Jones. There is not any word on when the promotion will just delay the name defense or whether Jones and a late replacement will fight like Anthony Johnson because the severity of Cormier’s injury has not been shown. Rumors swirled on Twitter week which Cormier may be nursing a leg injury and it seems those rumors were true. The UFC 197 co-main event can also be a title fight, a flyweight title defense by Demetrious”Mighty Mouse” Johnson against undefeated former Olympic gold medal-winning wrestler Henry Cejudo. The flyweight title defense can take the position that is headlining if everything else fails. UFC 197 takes place in three months (Saturday, April 23, 2016) in the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Here’s an updated look at the battle cardDemetrious Johnson vs. Henry Cejudo Edson Barboza vs. Anthony Pettis Andre Fili vs. Yair Rodriguez Rafael Natal vs. Robert Whittaker Carla Esparza vs. Juliana Lima Clint Hester vs. Marcos Rogerio de Lima Glaico Franca vs. James Vick Danny Roberts vs. Dominique Steele Efrain Escudero vs. Kevin Lee Chris Kelades vs. Sergio Pettis Norman Parke discharged by the UFC Former Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes winner Norman Parke has apparently been released by the UFC after his unanimous decision loss to Rustam Khabilov. On a single day where several fighters pranked lovers and press for April Fools (like Alexander Gustafsson’s fake retirement), this release was no laughing matter. Parke began his UFC career going 4-0-1 in his first five fights, but matters took a turn for the worse after he began facing tougher competition as he went 1-3 in his last four bouts, losing competitive decisions to Khabilov, Francisco Trinaldo and Gleison Tibau while beating Reza Medadi. The Northern Irishman has ability and the skills to work his way back into the roster if he find success outside the promotion and is still just 29 years old.

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